Creating Atlantis
by TempduLoupe
Summary: What will the crew do when Rikki finds a cave beneath Mako that holds the treasure and wishes of the Lost City of Atlantis? A now dead prince left his throne to our favorite friends whose fate it is to revive the Mer race and raise Atlantis. Will our heroes be able to reunite Man and Mer once again, or will the world as we know it succumb once more to War?
1. The Equinox

The Equinox by TempDuLoupe

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Prologue Chapter 1

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Today, or rather tonight was an unusual night.

Tonight was the first time, in nearly 25 years, that the full moon was to take place at midnight on the Equinox of the seventh month.

For most people this incidence would have barely registered as anything other than a fun fact and moved on with their day. However for a small group of people, it was quite the cause of worry.

"We don't even know if it's going to affect us or not," Rikki replied dismissively to Emma's comment on the dangers of being moon struck.

"But the fact that an equinox is known to be a 'magical' day and the fact that it's also a full moon is cause to be worried or at the very least cautiously prepared," Emma rebutted.

"Ladies, Ladies there is no need to argue, we'll moon proof the café just to be safe. We've done before and been safe and we'll do it again" Zane interrupted the girls. Rikki had gotten back together with him after three months of making him prove he had matured. The truth was she had missed him and he had missed her.

The girls muttered their agreements and dropped the argument.

-0-0-0-

Zane had closed up the shop early to allow the crew to start duct taping cardboard over the windows and doors.

"Well, whether the moon is strange tonight or not doesn't matter anymore because WE won't be seeing it," Cleo chirped happily as she stowed the duct tape in a drawer behind the counter. It had taken them nearly an hour to completely seal the entire restaurant.

"I'm just surprised your father's let you spend the night here after what happened last time," Will intoned as Lewis nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, Rikki's Dad might not care, no offense, but I don't get how you talked your fathers into letting you have another 'girls night' here," Lewis wondered aloud.

"Easy, I told him it was going to be at Emma's. Then Emma told her parents that she was sleeping at my place, Bella's parents are away on business and Rikki's Dad doesn't care or know about what happened last time," Cleo answered happily, thinking that it was a fool proof plan.

What she didn't know was that she had left her pajamas at home, and her step-mother, realizing this called Emma's house.

-0-0-0-0-

"Hello this is Mrs. Sertori, I just found Cleo's pajamas and thought I ought to call you and ask if she needs them or if she's borrowing something from Emma," Sam asked politely.

"Um, Cleo isn't here, in fact Emma said she was sleeping over at YOUR house tonight," Emma's mother replied confusion seeping into her voice.

"Are you sure," Sam asked as understanding crept into her mind.

"Yes, where could they be," Emma's mother asked worriedly.

"DAD, SAM there is a party down at the Café can I go," Kim's voice whined from the stairs. The younger girl had received a text from one of her friends who was in the area. Apparently the boy had seen several older teenagers going in that had yet to come out.

"I think I know where they are, Don and I will meet you and your husband at the cafe," Sam instructed.

"Of course, we will be right over. Do you think they could be in trouble?"

'If they aren't now then they will be when Don finds out that Cleo snuck out again,' Sam thought worriedly about her step daughter.

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"THEY WHAT?!"

Don Sertori was usually a rather laid back man. In fact only a few things really upset him: A lack of fish in the area, his daughter, today's teenagers, family arguments, lying, outright dishonesty, his TEENAGE DAUGHTER LYING TO HIM! And of course the teenage boy that probably tricked her into lying in the first place.

As of late it seemed his daughter had started lying more and more for no apparent reason.

So it was with this extreme frustration that was only shown as anger that Don Sertori drove himself and his wife down to Rikki's Café, mentally preparing himself to ground his daughter for the rest of her life.

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With a twitching eye, the Sertori's met the Gilbert's in the parking lot of the café.

"How are we going to handle this," Neil asked uncertainly, Emma hardly ever did anything wrong.

In fact this had to be her worst offense to date.

"We are going to barge in there! We are going to break up their little party! We are going to dish out some punishment!" Don said assertively as he began his march towards the Café.

In his haste he completely ignored the fact that the windows were covered in cardboard and that the café was mysteriously silent for the party that was supposedly taking place.

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The girls were sleeping on the floor of the café in their sleeping bags side by side, while the boys had taken the office and were still awake playing Mario party 8 on Wii (on mute so as not to wake the girls).

All of a sudden they heard the tinkling chimes of the café's side door.

Thinking that one or all of the girls had made a moonstruck run for it they dropped what they were doing and grabbed the tranquilizer pistols that they had started keeping on hand after an incident a few months ago involving Rikki and a minor forest fire.

Guns at the ready they launched themselves through the door aiming at the ground where the girls were…still sleeping?

Looking around for the source of the ringing bell the four boys' eyes widened in surprise when they saw not one set but two sets of parents staring with a mix of anger, confusion, worry and slight fear at the boys who were carrying, what appeared to the world, to be rather high caliber handguns. The boys realizing what must have happened lowered their guns. Zane raised a finger to his lips in a vain attempt to prevent the parents from waking the moon prone girls.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY IS GOING ON HERE!" Don Sertori bellowed angrily at the four boys.

On the floor the four sleeping girls bolted up and looked around for the source of the noise and saw…a beautiful moon, shining invitingly to them through the door of the café that was still being held open by a dumbfounded Mrs. Gilbert.

The room exploded into action, all four girls hurled themselves towards the only parent free door, which coincidently the door closest to the ocean.

As if on cue the boys began firing what appeared to be pink feathered bullets at the girls, who began hissing and growling.

That was new.

"Pa lalau kahua luarii," Bella purred sultrily at Will, who ducked her swipe but couldn't avoid her as she pushed him against a wall and kissed him hard. The kiss was like nothing he had ever felt before. He felt light like a cloud but tethered to a beautiful angel.

Before he could stop his hands they brought the pistol up and aimed for Lewis. This wasn't right he knew he wasn't supposed to do this but it was like he wasn't in control of his body and he was losing more control by the second.

"Lewis look out I can't stop, she did something to me. Guys don't let them kiss you."

Zane, Lewis and Ash turned on Bella who realized that now that her sisters had escaped to the sea she was alone with the man creatures and they knew not to let her close enough for her to use her other moon born gifts of seduction.

"Luakula Pariiua Kapuaano," Bella hissed menacingly before running at the boy closest to her planned exit and fluidly running up the half wall, pushing off the counter and doing a midair spin kick towards one of the people with a gun, knocking it out of his hands with one foot and unconscious with the other. Without another pause she propelled herself out the door, off the dock and into the water waiting below.

Lewis turned his gun on Will and fired, what was obviously a tranquilizer gun at Will lodging the feathered projectile in his shoulder.

Quickly retrieving the duct tape Cleo had stashed earlier, he stood Will up with help from Ash and began to tape his anesthetized friend to one of the columns in the middle of the room.

Ash propped an unconscious Zane up in a booth and left to retrieve an ice pack.

Lewis turned and stared awkwardly at the parents who were still shell shocked by the fight scene and

clean up that had only taken 3 minutes if that.

"Well."

"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED."

Surprisingly it wasn't the initially enraged father that shouted this, but the incredibly confused and frightened Neil Gilbert that had just shouted profanity at the four boys.

"What do YOU think happened," Lewis asked stupidly hoping to god this was just a nightmare.

"I think our daughters have psychotic boyfriends who kidnapped them drugged them with some bad LSD and when they escaped…I'm sorry that sounded too weird even just saying it," Mrs. Gilbert said trying to make sense of it all.

"The drugged part would explain their deranged hissing and growling, and that creepy nonsense that Bella was babbling," Sam continued.

"Kalua lapununu Nalueana, Bella, my Bella," Will was coming to from his position on the column. Ash had returned with an ice pack for the now awake but groggy Zane.

"Wha-where are the girls," Zane asked stupidly.

"Gone they escaped," Ash explained worriedly.

"We have to find them."

"NAHLUEANA, Kalapaku Mako. Mako must get to Mako," Will groaned half intelligibly, the strange babble Bella had been speaking returning, "Mother Moon is calling me, My Mate is calling me. By the Trident release me human."

"Not you too, Will come on fight it," Lewis groaned, slapping Will lightly with both hands to finish waking him up.

"Release me so that I may find my Mate and join my sisters, NOW you Kalukian Coral headed soil lover," Will spat on the floor and began writhing within his binds.

"Great, Just Great," Lewis slapped his forehead in frustration, "Now we have FIVE moonstruck lunatics to worry abo—oh fuck it."

Will had wormed a space in the tape and ducked down and out of it and without hesitation ran out the door in the direction of his Speed boat with was docked right where the girls had dived in.

"Worse full moon ever," Ash and Zane said in tandem.

"CAN SOOOOMEONE PLEEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY OUR DAUGHTERS AND YOU HAVE ALL GONE INSANE," Don Sertori finally woke up enough to remember he was angry.

"Um how about in the morning, we have to go catch the girls before they hurt anyone or themselves," Ash answered quickly and signaled to Lewis to grab the emergency kit.

A moment later Lewis emerged from the office with a large black bag stuffed with unknown items; the bag was big enough to stuff a person in.

Without answering, both the boys left the woozy Zane where he was and proceeded to hop in and start the zodiak which rapidly disappeared leaving only a wake and a group of confused adults.

"Oi, Zane, What is going on?" Don asked the wincing boy as he was popping an Excedrin in his mouth.

"All I can tell you is that your daughters and their friends are special and they go weird on the full moon. Ash and Lewis have gone to get them," Zane explained his headache starting to dissipate.

"Are...are they werewolves?" Mrs. Gilbert asked faintly.

"No."

"Vampires?"

"No I can't tell you, it's not my secret to tell," Zane said wincing slightly.

"Why do you have guns, they can't be that dangerous they're just teenage girls," Sam asked confused.

"They are VERY dangerous on a full moon," Zane continued, "they lose their conscience and are willing to destroy or maim anything that gets in their way of what they want."

To emphasize his point he lifted his pant leg to reveal a hand shaped burn that was still healing from the last full moon.

"They are all dangerous but Rikki and Emma more so than Bella and Cleo. They can kill faster and are more willing to do so than the others. Cleo couldn't or wouldn't hurt a fly unless provoked and Bella is more likely to seduce you than hurt you."

"H-have they ever killed anyone?" Sam gulped nervously.

"Not that I know of but they were almost angry enough when Ryan and Sophie…and I almost destroyed their…nest for lack of a better word," Zane explained as best he could his head feeling much better after that extra strength Excedrin.

"You helped …destroy their…nest?" Neil asked cautiously not really understanding.

"It's more of an underwater lair, and I didn't mean to destroy it I was trying to get some of the priceless gems it has," Zane explained blushing in shame, "I learned my lesson."

"You mentioned Rikki and Emma being able to…kill faster?"

"Um, yes it's hard to explain without telling you everything and that's not up to me. But yes they basically just have to wave a hand at you and you die. Cleo, even in this state she doesn't like to hurt people but she can make it look natural, almost as if you just got surprised and had a heart attack. In fact she did it to me once. Would have killed me if she hadn't stopped in time."

"M-my Cleo…is she going to be okay," Don asked Zane's confession had him afraid for his baby girl, "Is there anything we can do to help."

"THAT Mr. Sertori is the best question you've asked all night."

-0-0-0-0-

It was nearly 3 in the morning with the bright beautiful moon floating high in the velvet navy black sky.

Will wanted nothing more than his Mate, his Destined, and his lover.

Ash and Lewis weren't more than 3 minutes behind him, chasing him down as he neared the moon pools underwater entrance and dropped anchor.

Without fins or even removing his shoes he dived overboard and swam as fast as he could through the tunnel.

When he surfaced he was surrounded by the four mermaids who were all speaking the strange language of the moon and sea. He understood them.

"Hello lover."

He turned in the water in time to see a giddy Bella throw her arms around him and pull him tight against…her bare chest.

"What happened to your top, my love," Will asked not minding the slightest.

"Not a single clue lover, it was gone when we changed. Isn't it great," she giggled happily, before trapping his lips with her own and forcing him to sit on the Moon Pool's steps with her in his lap.

"Absolutely marvelous," he said gasping a quick breath and continuing to explore her mouth with his tongue.

Just then Ash and Lewis surfaced in the center of the pool, right in front of the trio.

"Guys you have to snap out of it. Bella you hurt Zane that's not like you at all," Lewis implored them before stopping short, "What happened to your tops and where are Cleo and Emma?"

Both Ash and Lewis stared at the two exposed girls.

Swallowing to clear the nonexistent frog from his throat, he was about to continue when Cleo shot out of the water in front of him and kissed him hard on the lips. Ash realized what was happening and attempted to pull her off of Lewis.

Just as the two broke apart Lewis' eyes glazed over as he pushed Cleo against the rocks and began fervently kissing him.

Before he could reach them, a white hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around in the water, the owner of the lips found his and slowly and softly began caressing them with a smoldering heat.

None of the seven noticed as the moon shifted into place over head and the water bubbled.

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It was six o'clock in the morning and the Moon wasn't going to set until eight.

The Gilberts found themselves frantically worrying about their daughter and her friends that had disappeared during the night. At the present they were huddled on Don Sertori's pontoon boat.

Said boat also held Zane Bennett, who was directing Mr. Sertori towards the infamous Mako Island.

It seemed that every time trouble had arisen in the past few years it always ended up having some connection with Mako.

"Alright when we land the boat, get it as far up onto the beach as possible or the girls won't want to get on," Zane instructed, as they pulled around to the girls favorite beach.

On the beachlay a pair of teenagers who were as naked as the day they were born.

"That had better not be Emma," Mr. Gilbert groaned with anxiety. The two naked figures were pressed up against each other and it didn't take a genius to figure what they had been doing.

"Now I need to know if you can follow my instructions," Zane asked, he couldn't have a bunch of rogue parents running around when the mermaids were still vulnerable.

"These are our daughters and we know how to deal with them," Don retorted, attempting to jump off the end of the boat to the beach.

Zane leveled his gun at Mr. Sertori.

"I don't want to have to do this, but I know for a fact that if you run out there half-cocked like this and start yelling at them, you probably aren't going to come back alive. They can't control themselves when they are like this and they won't recognize you as a friend or father," Zane explained, he really needed to get going.

"If we can't handle them, then we should call the police," Sam offered already pulling her phone out. Zane grabbed it and pocketed it in one smooth move.

"If you do that and the police find them like this, not only are you risking the officer's life, you're risking your daughters. They are VERY SPECIAL and if they are discovered…let's just say none of us would ever see them again, even if they survived."

A startled hissing noise came from behind them as the Blonde girl on the beach woke up and saw them. Immediately she stood and began pelting her way to water which was only 30 feet away.

Bam.

The Blonde girl fell to the sand unconscious, a bright pink feather sticking out of her arm. She was 15 feet from the water.

The noise had obviously awakened the boy, who cursed in the odd fluid language he had spoken earlier and ran to the girl who had fallen. Without delay the boy attempted to pick the girl up and run to the water.

Bam.

He hadn't even managed to come to a full stand when he too dropped to the sand, his charge falling horizontally across his chest.

"Listen, if you love your daughters you will each take one of these guns and a set of towels," Zane instructed and was immediately obeyed as the four adults grabbed the necessary supplies and followed Zane off the boat.

"Keep your guns at the ready; you never know where they are. Mrs. Sertori, keep an eye on the ocean they're fast swimmers and it's not an obstacle for them."

Sam followed his order and turned to the sea looking for any boats or swimming people. The rest of the group gathered around the fallen couple.

"It's Bella and that Benjamin boy."

The adults started to wrap the children in blankets, and carried them back to the boat.

Once there, Zane used rope to tie them both to the rail of the boat.

Sam having been trained in first aid and when she decided to do a full work up and lifted Will's eye lid she immediately jumped back with a yelp.

"What is it?"

"H-His eyes! Come look at this."

The group gathered around the normally blue-eyed boy and gasped as Sam lifted his eye lid again to reveal bright purple irises.

Curiosity peeked, they moved over to the unconscious Bella and opened her eyes with a finger.

The blue was gone, replaced with a shimmery green the color of Seaweed.

"I've never seen a stone like this," Mr. Gilbert said fingering the moonstone pendant that was glowing where it laid over the blanket Will was wrapped in.

"That's because there are only eight like that in the world," Zane explained pulling his own out along with Bella's, making sure they stayed far enough apart.

"Wow, even for you that must have been expensive," Don whistled, "Why would you even want them."

"They weren't expensive. In fact they were free, they come from a place where only the girls can go. Actually others can go, but I wouldn't recommend it, a couple others and I tried to mine them and almost died trying," Zane explained as he finished the last knot.

He stood up without another word, and went to the helm.

"Why are we leaving?"

"We aren't, I'm just going to take the boat around the island to see if we can spot the others."

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It wasn't even ten minutes later that the group on the boat spotted two speed boats, bobbing in the water near the volcano's cliff.

Pulling alongside they hooked the boats with a pole and dragged them up to the Pontoon.

"They're empty," Sam stated the obvious.

"Yeah and they left their equipment behind meaning that the girls got them and we have two less allies and two more enemies."

"Enemies? They're children, they're your friends," Mrs. Gilbert said astounded at his words.

"Until the moon goes down, they don't know that, so we have to act the same."

Zane started rifling through the large duffle bag from earlier. It held a small vial of green ointment labeled 'EMERGENCY ONLY', sixty extra rounds of tranquilizers, microfiber towels, clothing, ear plugs, Eight pair of dark glasses, 4 mini oxygen tanks, Rope, flippers, and a large raw tuna wrapped in plastic.

"That looks more like an eccentric overnight hunting bag with a snack than, 'Equipment'."

"Trust me this stuff works."

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Having left the boats where they were, Zane pulled the pontoon around to a small beach less than 100 ft. from the moon pool.

"From here we go on foot, Sam would you mind staying with our sleeping friends," Zane asked and then turned not waiting for a reply, "Good. Shoot them if they twitch."

The group began hiking up through the forest towards the stream the trickled down into the moon pool through a crack.

Not even halfway there, a figure with long blond hair that covered her bare breast came stalking towards him.

"Zane…oh Zane….come here….I want you… nothing but you… my lover… my Mate," Rikki said in a slow seductive voice, her hand outstretched in a come hither movement. Her now Golden yellow eyes inviting him in.

Bam.

She dropped to the leaf litter. Zane ran to her with a blanket and began tying her to a tree.

"H-how did you do that, she wasn't even talking to me and I wanted to do everything she said," Mr. Sertori shuddered.

Zane reached up to his ear and pulled out a silicon ear plug.

"That's why we have ear plugs," Zane said pulling out two more pairs for Don and Neil.

"What about me," Mrs. Gilbert asked fretfully.

"They only have power over men," Zane said before popping his ear plug back in and starting to walk.

They reached the stream to find a naked Ash face down in the dirt snoring loudly.

Mr. Gilberts face distorted in anger and he ran up to the boy and kicked him awake intent on learning his daughter whereabouts.

Instead of getting a startled but apologetic teen boy, who was faced with his angry girlfriend's father, Ash hopped up into a crouch and growled loudly attempting to grab at Neil. His Silver eyes shifting back and forth.

Bam. He fell back to the floor.

"Oi, do that again and I shoot YOU. Really, are you trying to get yourself killed," Zane said angrily, as he wrapped and bound Ash to the nearest tree.

"I thought it was only the girls, that were 'Special'," Neil said shakily.

"Usually they are, but we have no idea what happened last night. It was a special full moon. The boys could just be under the girls' control, or hell they might have been changed themselves."

Before Zane could continue, the bushes near then rustled and Cleo popped out. She looked different, her eyes were bright teal blue instead of brown, and her hair which normally only reach her shoulders, now covered her breast and reached to her navel.

"Hello, Zane have you seen my Lover, I can't find him," Cleo asked in polite airy voice, a smile on her face.

"Would you be talking about Lewis?" Mr. Sertori started up angrily. HIS daughter DID NOT have a LOVER.

"Of course, Don. He is my Life Mate," Cleo giggled happily.

Zane wasn't ready to shoot her, she seemed amiable enough. Perhaps he could get her to the boat of her own free will.

"He is NOT YOUR LIFE MATE," Don said angry that his daughter was so dismissive of his presence.

A strong hurricane force wind blew at Don, as Cleo's face contorted in anger.

"Cleooo," called a voice from the forest and the wind stopped immediately as a butt naked Lewis stepped out of the trees. His eyes a startling Lobster Red.

"There you are lover, I've been looking everywhere for you," Lewis said oblivious to anything not Cleo. He immediately walked to her, wrapped his arms around her and began nuzzling her neck lovingly.

"OI, GET OFF MY DAUGHTER," Don shouted at them.

Bam. Don hit the floor.

"I warned him that if he did that I'd shoot him."

"Now Lewis, Cleo would you like to go on a boat ride together," Zane offered placating.

"Silly boy, why would we ride a boat when we could swim," Cleo answered about to jump in the stream that led to the ocean.

Bam. Bam.

The couple dropped.

"Well, when negotiations don't work."

This time the Gilberts assisted Zane as he wrapped and bound the teenagers, all the while wondering if this was some insane dream.

"Mrs. Gilbert stay here and watch them, like I said earlier shoot them if they move and that includes Mr. Sertori."

The pair, headed up to the hole that admitted entrance to the Moon pool cave.

Singing…beautiful singing floated through the air. It didn't seem to have words or meaning it was just liquid vocalizations.

Oddly it wasn't coming from the cave but further up the mountain.

Looking up, there was Emma her normally long straight hair was down to her thighs and was wavy. Her blue eyes were now lighter almost a shimmery chrome with dark silver rings.

"Aaua Laua, Kalua," she repeated her voice carrying for miles.

Bam.

Emma fell the 8 feet down into Zane's waiting arms.

This time her father took her and wrapped her exposed body, before coiling the rope Zane handed him tightly around her.

0-0-0-0-0

An hour later the group found themselves back on the boat, with a group of unconscious teenagers tied to a rail and one groggy Mr. Sertori who had finally woken up from his human dose of tranquilizer.

Zane was watching his watch impatiently.

After about 15 more minutes he smile triumphantly and announced, "The full moon has set they should wake up any minute."

"What does the full moon have to do with them waking up I thought you tranquilized them," Sam asked.

"No, I tranquilized Mr. Sertori with an actual sleeping dart. The others I hit with water from a desert oasis that was blessed by an aborigine's shaman," Zane explained, apparently the natives have had to deal with mermaids before.

"So are they some sort of demon or something," Lisa, Mrs. Gilbert asked to be called, asked.

"When they wake up it's up to them whether or not they want to explain it," Zane explained.

They waited in silence as they the next ten minutes passed by.

"Look they're starting to move," Neil pointed out.

"Ughhh, what happened," Bella was the first to wake up. She froze when she realized she was surrounded by adults.

"SHIT! GUYS WAKE UP, SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED!" Bella shouted at her friends who were also tied up and had only just began to move.

"Huh, what are you talkin—oh shit, fuck, we've been captured. Guys I think Denman got us," Rikki had woken up and was thrashing violently until she saw Zane, "Uuum, Zane what's going on."

"You guys went absolutely psychotic last night. You put the boys under some sort of spell and started running around naked. We found Bella and Will on the beach and I sincerely doubt you guys used a condom," Zane said bluntly. He was exhausted and more than a bit irritated.

"WHAT?" Will and Bella screamed

"Oh my god Bella I am SO SORRY please forgive me I couldn't control myself, I don't even remember doing it," Will started begging for forgiveness.

"No, no it's my fault I'm the one who dragged you into all of this. I'm SO SORRY Will please don't hate me," Bella sobbed, she was sore and her muscles ached.

"I could never hate you Bella I love you, I'll understand if you want to break up thou—"

"There will be time for apologies later, first WE want some answers," Neil interrupted.

"uhhhh." Was all the seven teens could manage.

"Emma, I thought we had a no lying policy in our house," Lisa started, "Why didn't you tell us about whatever this is."

"Oh my god, Mom, Dad I'm SO SORRY I was just so scared. I thought you might try and take me to a doctor and that they would lock me up and dissect me," Emma started sobbing.

"Sweet heart it's going to be alright, just tell us what happened," Neil soothed.

"Before they do that maybe it would be a good idea for us to untie them and let them get dressed," Zane said.

Ten minutes later the teenagers were dressed and sitting in a circle on the boats deck.

"Guys I think we should tell them, they already know something is going on, and personally I'd rather not have to hide in my own home anymore," Emma tried to persuade her friends.

"Yeah, me too. It'd be nice not to have to sneak out just to hide at the Café on a full moon," Cleo agreed.

"They're your parents tell them what you want," Rikki said, Bella nodded along with her.

"That's cool and all but I still want to know what happened last night," Will continued. He held Bella tightly to him as she sat on his lap. He'd never forgive himself for doing that to his girlfriend and holding her reassured him she wasn't going to evaporate and leave him forever.

"Of course that was just weird. The last thing I remember is diving into the moon pool to get you guys and then nothing," Ash said, his arm around a nervous Emma.

"Same here, I remember Cleo's face then nothing," Lewis agreed, his hand rubbing up and down Cleo's arm reassuringly.

"This is by far our worst reaction to a Full moon. EVER," Rikki said leaning into Zane's side and hugging him.

"We'll figure it out, for now we have to go tell our parent's the truth," Cleo said gulping at the thought.

"Guys, we've decided we are going to tell you the truth," Emma announced to the parents who had been whispering in their own group.

0-0-0-0

They all took a seat on the couches at the stern of the boat.

"So are you going to tell us what you are," Neil asked nervously his hands squeezing him knees to keep from fidgeting.

"Yes."

Emma took a deep breath to calm her and let it out slowly.

"We're mermaids."

Silence.

"What do you mean your mermaids," Sam asked confused.

"Well, when we touch water we grow a fish tail, we can stay under water for hours at a time, we have special magic abilities and we each have a power over water," Rikki continued for the nervous Emma.

"Oh."

"Show us," Don said his face clear that he didn't believe them.

Each of the girls stood up and walked to the edge of boat. With a large splash that sprayed the group, they landed in the water.

Ten seconds later

Three bodies thudded to the boat deck. While four girls stared wide eyed over the edge of the boat at their boyfriends.

"So THAT's what happened last night," Lewis stated stupidly as he stared at his bright red tail with his now bright red eyes.

"No kidding," Ash agreed poking at his silver and black tail.

"Whoa," was all Will managed as he stared at his iridescent blue purple tail, his purple eyes following the tip as it moved.

"G-guys we're different too," the girls said from the water. The attention returned to the water where the girls were floating stomach down.

It was obvious as to why. Each of their torso's were bare of their normal breast coverings. Their tails were no longer the same orange they had known since becoming mermaids.

Bella's tail was a mix of shimmering greens, while Emma's matched her eyes and was white with silver fins. Rikki's tail was golden yellow with red rimming the edge of each scale. Cleo's was turquoise and gradated to a deep blue then violet at it reached the tip of the fins.

"Can someone help us back on the boat-aaah," Cleo asked, before anyone could respond two dolphins came up beneath her and pushed her onto the deck.

"What the hell just happened."

"New powers I'd guess, no one's been through the Moon Pool twice or maybe this is just what happens when a mermaid becomes an adult," Lewis inferred.

"Let me try something else," Cleo said, she raised her hand in a palm up lifting motion and the water holding the girls raised up and with a dropping motion deposited them dry on the deck.

"Ow, thanks Cleo, next time try to be a little more gentle," Bella said as she sat back on her newly returned legs, glad that her clothes had returned.

"Before we start playing with our new powers maybe we should dry off the boys and finish our explanation."

End of Prologue

0-0-0-0-0

Nearly a year had passed since the Gilberts and the Sertori's had joined the group.

And today was not one marked with happiness. Today was the day that Harrison Bennett's Will was to be read.

One month ago he had died in a tragic car accident. He had just started walking from his corporation's main office building towards a nice restaurant not even half a block away to meet a colleague of his for a business lunch.

He had stepped off the curb at the cross walk when a texting driver obliviously ran the red light bowling over Mr. Bennett killing him instantly.

The driver was in jail on a manslaughter charge, having pleaded guilty.

Zane however was sitting with his girlfriend Rikki for support as the Lawyer started reading the will.

"To Zane Harrison Bennett. I know that in recent years we have fought over a great many things. I just want to tell you that I am sorry and I never meant it. To prove this I leave everything I own to you. However there is one stipulation. You must marry Rikki Chadwick within one month of reading this will. I know I haven't always been supportive of you two, but I want to make it up to you. You have my blessing and I want nothing but the best for you two."

"What."

"Do you wish for me to repeat your section of the will Mr. Bennett?"

"No, no um can you explain what that marry Rikki Chadwick part means," Zane asked his eyes wide and voice faint.

"It means that to collect the money and assets your father left you, you and I assume this is Ms. Chadwick will have to legally be married inside of one month," the Lawyer explained calmly. It was an odd will, but still he had the job of executing it.

Thud.

Rikki had let go off Zane and fainted, falling sideways off her chair onto the carpet.

"Rikki, Rikki I need you to wake up," Zane said half ready to faint himself. He wasn't sure he was ready to be married, he wasn't even nineteen yet.

Shaking her head she opened her eyes and stared at Zane like he was some sort of alien species never before seen on earth. Which was rich coming from her.

"Did I just dream that," Rikki asked dazedly.

"No, but you are going to need to get up, we need to talk about this," Zane helped her up from the floor.

"So how much money are we talking, hundred thousand, five hundred thousand," Zane asked, he knew his father was rich but he had never really talked bank statements with him. Besides the café could use all the help it could get and a hundred thousand would go a long way.

With a raised eye the lawyer handed Zane a piece of paper without saying a word.

Zane read it, read it again, counted the zeroes and fell over sideways off his chair.

"Zane, Zane?"

Smack.

"Huh, wha," Zane asked confused as he looked up at Rikki and rubbed at his smarting jaw.

"Up you go," Rikki repeated his earlier action.

As Zane sat in his chair, Rikki picked up the piece of paper he had been reading.

She read it, read it again, counted the zeroes and –

"Breath Rikki," Zane instructed taking the paper from her hands and making sure she didn't fall over again.

And she took a breath… and another and another in quick succession and before she knew it she was hyperventilating.

"If we don't get (gasp) married (gasp) in a month (gasp) you're going (gasp) to lose (gasp) 6 (gasp) BILLION DOLLARS," Rikki finished with a shout.

"That's the gist of it," the lawyer offered helpfully. The couple glared at him.

Rikki took a shuddered deep breath to calm herself.

"Uh sir, can you leave for a moment we need to talk in private," Zane turned to the lawyer and ordered him out.

The Lawyer obediently stood up and left locking the door behind him. As the Bennett executor he received 1 percent of the will and let's just say that if they need to talk he was going to let them, seeing as the only way he was going to receive that 6 million dollar pay check was if those two lovebirds got married.

"Rikki, you know that I love you, right," Zane asked carefully, he didn't want her to think he was only asking this for the money.

"Y-yes," Rikki answered weakly.

"And-and you know that eventually I was going to ask you to marry me," Zane continued a bead of sweat rolling down his nape.

"I g-g-guess," Rikki stuttered her body trembling.

"This…situation has just forced my hand a little early is all," Zane explained. Letting go of her hand he walked over the scotch decanter and poured himself a finger of the brown liquid. He stared silently at it, as if waiting for it to do something before grabbing the decanter and taking a large guzzling swig, completely forgetting the small glass he had poured himself.

This caused a broken giggle sob to break from Rikki's lips. Then she snickered. Then she laughed before outright guffawing.

"HAAAAAAHHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHAHAHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA HAHHAHAHA, oh my god this is crazy," she laughed before going silent, "this is psychotic, certifiably loony," she finished in a whisper.

Zane stared at her.

Rikki stared at him.

"Will you marry me," Zane asked casually as if he was talking about the weather.

"Sure," she replied as if he had just offered her an experimental juice at the café.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too."

Zane grabbed her from her seat in the arm chair and pulled her into a searing kiss which she immediately responded to. He pulled back from her.

"We are getting married," he said with a stupid grin, "Come on I'm going to get you the prettiest ring in the universe."

With that he grabbed her hand and pulled her out the office.

"See ya, Mr. Grainer we have a wedding to plan, we'll send you an invitation...maybe."

0-0-0-0

The first place they went was a fancy and rather expensive custom jeweler.

"How can I help you," the man behind the desk asked cordially.

"I just proposed to this lovely lady and I find myself in need of a ring," Zane said as he swung their clasped hand up so he could kiss her knuckles.

"I suppose it was a spur of the moment thing then," the employee asked grinning.

"Yes quite the surprise for both of us," Rikki laughed happily.

"So what kind of ring would you like, princess, double band," 'Chad the Conceptualization Specialist' asked, his name tag giving him away.

"Mermaid," Rikki and Zane said together.

"What?"

"The ring it has to have something to do with mermaids."

And so they began telling him what exactly they wanted.

"Alrighty, it's definitely going to be unique," Chad announced as they finalized the drawing, "How much are you willing to pay for this." Chad always hated this part, because more often than not the spur of the moment proposers didn't have the kind of money necessary for an extravagant custom ring.

"Between Ten and Twenty thousand," Zane said happily, it wasn't as if they couldn't afford it.

"Uh, uh I can assure that will be MORE than enough," Chad replied his mouth hanging open, "It probably won't exceed 5,000 and that's pushing it."

With that they rung up a general contract and Zane pay the down payment and the couple was on their 'Marry' way.

0-0-0-0

"Why is it that you laugh EVERY single time I say I don't want a mermaid cut for my wedding dress," Rikki demanded as her Maid of Honor Cleo and her other bridesmaids Bella and Emma snickered again.

"Oh, come on you have to admit it is kind of ironic," Bella laughed.

"Not really, you have to admit the mermaid style is kind of ugly looking," Cleo offered.

"Exactly and THAT is why she is my Maid of Honor," Rikki smiled.

Just as she finished saying this, an employee of the dress shop hung up a dress that Rikki had yet to try on.

The dress was cream-white with light near-white, golden-pink flowers that were barely discernible unless it shifted in the light. Around the waist was a silk sash that matched the champagne color of the flowers.

It was strapless and Rikki wanted it.

However another bridesmaid with another group had obviously been sent to retrieve it first.

With little mulling over the morality of what she was about to do she twisted her hand and melted the rubber sole of the woman's flats to the floor.

"Rikki. You can't do that to people," Emma scolded as she cooled the shoe enough for the woman to move again. The girl seemed to think she had either stepped in gum or on a carpet staple, but by the time she looked back up the dress was off its individual wall rack and all that was left was a rustling curtain from the dressing room.

A few minutes later the Rikki reappeared wearing the dress, it fit her perfectly; both size and personality wise.

"It's perfect. I absolutely love it. I mean can you imagine it with a pair of white elbow length gloves, and some jewelry," Rikki preened ecstatically.

For once all the girls had to agree the dress was phenomenal.

0-0-0-0-0

The day had finally come.

"Isn't having your wedding on a beach a bit obvious," Bella asked as the girls sat in the lower cabin of the boat preparing for the wedding.

"So, I love the beach and that's that," Rikki said dismissively.

It was true, for a mermaid getting married on the beach was kind of an obvious choice but she loved Mako and as she said that was that.

"How do you want your hair," Cleo said as she brushed Rikki's navel length hair, "there is too much of it to put it all in an up do."

"Half down, half up and curls I want curls and twist," Rikki chattered happily. Today was going to be perfect.

0-0-0-0

On shore the boys and the Parents had just finished setting up the Ceremony space as well as the tables and chairs for the reception.

It wasn't hard seeing as the only people attending the party were the Parents of the girls and Ash whose dad had been told less than a week after the change.

"This is a bit weird, I mean one minute they're broken up the next they're getting married," Rikki's dad shook his head disbelievingly.

The couple had decided not to tell anyone about the money, they knew they loved each other and they didn't need people lecturing them on marrying for money.

0-0-0

After a brief and tear filled ceremony that had ended in an obnoxiously long kiss, the reception started with food (and wine) was passed around as the couple cut the cake.

"Toast," Ash shouted a bit tipsy.

"Alrighty, I have something to say to you guys," Emma giggled after sipping her fifth glass of wine.

"Rikki, you might just be the craziest person I know and that's what makes you and Zane so perfect he's psychotic too," She finished by falling into Ash's lap and kissing him hard.

"Hear, hear," the group cheered.

"Okay, hey guys I want to make an announcement before I pass out," Zane chuckled at his own joke, "Do any of you remember that time I asked about who owned Mako Island."

The teens acknowledged the past conversation.

"Well, apparently it belongs to the government and they were willing to part with it for a cool 15 million dollars…So I bought it," Zane was grinning ecstatically.

The group exploded into questions


	2. The Engagement

Chapter 2 Will and Bella

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A bit too mature for younger kids.

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"Fuck yes, mmmm," was all Bella heard as she strode down the board walk past one of the boat house's open window.

For a moment a flash of jealousy and anger consumed her. That is until she stopped and peeked into the window.

"Mmmm, yeah Bella that's good," Will moaned his fantasy aloud.

Mortification quickly turned to desire as she flashed back to their 'encounter', that had turned Will and transformed her.

If only she could have remembered their first time…

She had read somewhere that if you reenact the thing you supposedly forgot you could retrieve lost memories.

So with a firm resolve Bella Hartley set out to rectify the situation.

0-0-0-0-0

Unsurprisingly after a few words of persuasion and a fervent and passionate kiss Will had been all for reenacting their previous happenstance and the couple was now sprawled across Will's pull out futon, Bella's head resting on Will's chest as she drew lazy circles across his toned abdomen.

"Bella?" Will asked tentatively.

"Yeah, babe," Bella sighed happily.

"I've been meaning to talk to you, but for some reason every single time I try something comes up," Will continued attempting to explain what ever his point was.

"Alriiight," Bella said slowly a small part of her apprehensive the other curious.

"So before something crazy happens and I botch this I'm going to come right out with it," Will started, "Bella Hartley I love you more than the moon, sea and stars, will you marry me?"

Silence.

"Are you doing this because we just had sex," Bella asked sitting up.

"What, NO NO absolutely not," Will nearly shouted, "In fact I've been holding on to this for the past few weeks, waiting for the right time to ask."

Bella looked up and resting in the palm of his hand was a black velvet box with a ring nestled inside.

The ring breathtaking.

It was a single silver mermaid, it's tail and back arched in such a way that it appear the litte mermaid was holding a giant diamond with the help of her tail. The Mermaids tail and eyes were encrusted with shimmering emeralds while the central 2.5 carat diamond was surrounded with a number of tiny pearls and unmistakable blue moonstones.

"It's GORGEOUS," Bella said snatching it from the box and slipping it on her finger.

Before Will could answer Bella wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into an urgent kiss.

"YES, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, ALWAYS YES," Bella was chanting excitedly as she kissed him on every inch of face she could reach.

"SURPRISE—AAAAH, WHAT IS GOING ON," came a voice from a now open door way.

Two adults were staring horrified at the couple that were still tangled together on the bed.

"MUM, DAD SHIT uh can you give us a second," Will practically begged as he pushed Bella's behind himself as she clutched the sheets to her body.

0-0-0-0-0

Ten minutes later

The couple had their Parent acceptable story ready and were dressed as they sat on the newly couched shaped futon across from the disbelieving parents.

"Will can you tell me WHY your father and I take an early flight in so we can surprise you and find you in bed AT NINE in the morning with some strange girl," Will's mom asked her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose.

Time for the lie.

"Mum, Dad Bella is not a strange girl," Will started, "In fact as of last night she's my Fiancée."

Silence.

"Can you repeat that," Will's dad asked. Up until that point he was having trouble hiding a proud fatherly smirk from his wife, it had been replaced by sincere confusion.

"Bella and I are getting married," Will restated as he pulled Bella's left hand out to show them.

"So if you must know, this 'Morning' we were celebrating," Will explained. Bella was still mortified and there was really no need to mention the fact that he had only proposed after he and Bella had slept together or that technically it hadn't been the first time.

"Oh."

"Please say we have your blessing," Bella burst out worry in her already shocked eyes.

"Uh, uh of course," Both of them agreed.

0-0-0-0-0

Now the only thing to do was tell Bella's parents and spend as long as they wanted to plain a wedding.

Boy when Rikki and Zane get back from their honeymoon are they going to be surprised.


	3. The Stones

Chapter 3

Lewis was a genius.

In fact he had an IQ of 157.

Whenever there was a problem, it would be Lewis who would hypothesis, reason and eventually solve any problems our favorite group of friends encountered.

Thus it may surprise you to know that it was Lewis' rather saccharine girlfriend that came up with the idea to use disguised moonstones to keep any and all electric modes of transportation away from Mako Island.

The couple sat with their legs crossed in the safety of the moon pool cave with a large pile of sea shells and moonstones that had been salvaged from Sophie's previous attempt at mining.

"Ok so here is the plan. Each shell is going to contain two moonstones situated close enough together that they will send out, that weird energy that turns off technology," Cleo explained as she picked up two small stones and held them in her hand.

As Lewis watch Cleo glued the two stones together with water proof superglue and set it aside as she started doing the same with the others. After twenty minutes they had 48 sets of two stones all gleaming brightly.

"Now take a shell and drop the gems in and make sure they get as far in as they can go, so if they are found people won't be able to get the stones out," Cleo instructed as she picked up a shell and did exactly that, finishing the first one with a generous squirt of glue.

An hour later the set had dried and the couple headed out of the moon pool via water with their bucket of shells and underwater cement.

Working as a team, the two cemented each shell just beneath the water on the metal posts Zane had installed that each held a KEEP OUT sign. Once done they swam to the next one which was approximately 500 feet away from its sibling.

The posts were arranged in the water, in exact increments apart, so that in the end the island would be surrounded by a perfect circle of the stones. 48 ward shells to account for the 4.6 miles of the circle's circumference.

Interestingly, Emma's hypothesis that if two stones disrupted electronics for 500 feet in every direction then three stones would disrupt the city was wrong. Very wrong in fact, using three smaller chips of moonstone Lewis' found that it was the exact opposite.

Two stones turned electricity off. A third stone cancels out the effect.

Meaning that anyone wearing the moonstone necklace that each of the eight friends wore could ride a boat right through the wards with no effect.

As long as you wore a stone your technology worked.

Lewis and Cleo sat on the beach satisfied with the day's work. Cleo was giggling at how the sharks seemed too eager when she had asked them to scare any trespassers. Scare not bite.

0-0-0-0-0

Best Friends

That is exactly what the four mermaids were.

Lounging comfortably in the moon pool the four girls chattered as most girls do about clothing, makeup and hair accessories.

"I'm just saying," Cleo replied to Emma's scoff, "Emma's hair stayed red when she was in mermaid form. I don't see why if we dressed our mermaid form that it would disappear forever."

"She has a point Emma. If she's right then I can stop carrying around this stupid bikini top," Bella agreed.

Ever since their mermaid tops had disappeared the girls had taken to carrying bikini tops everywhere they went to prevent 'exposure' if they got wet. It was a hassle.

"Totally, I don't know about you guys but wouldn't it be cool to wear a sea shell bra," Rikki joked.

"I suppose," Emma chewed her lip. The idea had merit, she really was tired of taking a bathing suit top EVERYWHERE with her and she couldn't even swim more than a mile or two an hour without the flimsy material falling off.

"Great, I have another idea. Just for fun of course," Cleo started, "How about we make it a competition, whoever makes the prettiest mermaid outfit wins and you CAN'T use a bathing suit or human clothes."

And off they went agreeing to meet back at 6.

0-0-0

Bella knew exactly what she was going to use.

They had been collecting dust on a shelf in her room since she was nine, at the time she had gotten them they had been meant as souvenirs, now they were going to be put to use.

0-0-0-0

Rikki loved bright colors, red orange and yellow to be specific.

Which is why she was smiling at the two halves of the Australian Red Bivalve shell she held in her hand.

Now all I need is some fishing line, Rikki thought as she swam towards Zane's boat a bag filled with a number of shells big and small.

0-0-0-0-0

Cleo was excited.

She absolutely adored shopping.

To her that was exactly what she was doing, picking a custom outfit.

Using her tail to push her along Cleo's arms were filled with a collection of small blue and purple shells as well as a large turquoise abalone's and few long coils of thin brown, nautical rope.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Emma was practical.

However, she was also very competitive.

This was becoming more and more obvious as she sat with a needle in hand, delicately sewing white and purple cowries into the tightly woven fishing net she had salvaged.

0-0-0

Help had not been forbidden. This simple fact was why as Bella finished ornamenting and twisting her hair into place, her fiancé Will was diligently, smoothing, buffing, and painting the two White Irish Scallops. The outer edges had been sanded smooth and dull, and then both shells polished to a shine. Once that had been finished he expertly brushed a silvery ocean green into the grooves of the each shell.

With a wink Bella allowed Will to hold the shell to her bare chest as she hardened and cured the shells with water to her breast.

0-0-0-0

The only way to complete any outfit is with jewelry.

In this case, Rikki was busy stringing elaborate strands of red, white and orange miniature turbinidae snail shells and tying them off.

3 long ones, each one longer than the last now lay around her neck. Five small red flat shells tied in a band with fishing line around each of her upper arms.

The large red shell halves were tied over her breast with twists of fishing line so that the line was too thick to cut her skin.

Her hair was down and 3 braids of varying thickness were interspersed, each one decked with flat circles of shell beads along its length.

0-0-0-0-0

Cleo checked the time and began swimming back more than satisfied with her work.

The thin rope was wrapped in alternating lines as a twist around her no longer exposed breast. A number of shells adorned the front. As if they were quarter sized sequins, purple and blue flat shells were layered like roof shingles over the rope.

Her hair was pulled into a tight French braid that hung down her back. Two wavy locks hung down to frame her face. The braid ridge was holding tiny purple sea shells. The final accessory was the large turquoise abalone that matched her tail, using a thin chain she had fashioned herself a purse of sorts.

0-0-0-0-0-0

It was finished. Emma couldn't have been prouder of her efforts if she tried.

The girls would flip when they saw her, she thought as she wrapped an eight inch thick strip of white sail canvas she had found washed ashore around her breast. Once done she tied the triangular section of fishing net, with hundreds of small white and purple cowrie shells dangling diagonally from each other in place. It was a halter top secured with two half inch thick plaits of fishing line were tied in a bow around her neck with their twins were tied around her torso.

Blonde tresses were strategically twisted and tied into a loose but smooth bun. In her hair were five quarter sized dried white star fish she had found on shore along with bands of small white sand dollars that were wrapped as a bracelet and choker around her neck and wrist.

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Bella's hair was voted the best.

Half of it was pulled back into a high twisted ball, while the other hung in tight waves around her shoulder. Three locks of her hair were used as the thread for strands of small pearls that lead back to the ball. She wore a pair of white spiral shells that hung from her ears.

Rikki's Jewelry was voted the best. The polished red, white and orange shells matched her shell top perfectly.

Cleo's top was top was colorful but it was the purse that they really loved,

In the end Emma's competitive streak won out as her intricate shell weave top was so gorgeous the girls agreed it was the best.


	4. The Cottages

Chapter 4

Emma was jealous.

Something that for the former swim champion was not a usual emotional.

Why?

All three of her best friends were married or engaged…except her.

It's not like she was intentionally being cold to her friends. It was just how she reacted to this unusual feeling. Ugh, she knew she shouldn't be jealous.

But…

What if the reason Ash hadn't proposed even after three years of dating, was because he didn't plan on EVER asking her to marry him.

It was the feeling that made her cold to her blissfully happy friends. The doubt just hurt too much.

"Hey Emma," Cleo greeted happily as she walked into the café with her new fiancée Lewis.

Ugh, it wasn't fair, she was never the last one to do anything.

Hell she even started her period before the other girls. Not that that was really a competition.

Lewis was saying something.

"Mmhmm that's great," Emma agreed hoping her friends hadn't realized she'd spaced out.

"What, how is that great," Lewis asked confusion etched on his face via scrunched eyebrows.

"Huh oh sorry I'm a bit out of it," Emma apologized, "So what's wrong."

"Nate and his friends realized that boats haven't been able to get near Mako, so he's posted a dare online that he'll give a hundred dollars to the first person that is able to get to the Island and bring back proof he made it," Cleo explained, "I'm suddenly very glad nobody but us knows that Zane bought the Island. The rest of the town still thinks it was bought by a mysterious organization."

"That's bad. But it's with good reason that Zane doesn't allow anyone on the island. Even if they didn't catch a mermaid they could find the camp we set up or worse the moon pool," Emma said.

"Yeah, that's why we came we wanted to see if one of you guys could come plan and set up traps and escapes in case someone makes it," Lewis announced.

"I'll come," Rikki said as she placed the drink tray she'd finished delivering on the counter.

"Great, I'll call Will and Bella and hopefully we'll be able to figure something out," Cleo said happily.

0-0-0-0-0

Emma had decided to remain at the Café leaving Lewis, Will, Bella and Cleo to scheme.

"Emma was right if someone had found this camp they be able to tell right off that something wasn't right," Lewis said inspecting the place.

Flash back one month

The entire group had gathered at the clear in the jungle on Mako where the creek ran off the volcano.

"Okay, each couple will get their own place, but it can't be where a satellite will see it. When I say go run to the spot you want your house and draw a perimeter line," Rikki instructed getting ready to run herself.

"GO"

Four couples separated and ran to a different spot behind the tree line so as to be protected from satellites.

0-0-0

Bella was laughing excitedly as she and her husband of one month both had a stick in hand and were running around making lines to signify where the outer wall of their house would be.

She had chosen the spot to the right of the fresh water pool nestled in a clearing but also surrounded by a thicket of bamboo. Their 'cottage' was to be 30 by 30, basically a bedroom, living room and small bathroom.

It wasn't for permanent living only a place to stay during the full moon or when you want a weekend away from it all.

0-0-0-0

Rikki smiled at Zane as he very carefull drew a square with a semicircle attached to it. They already had a house on the mainland, quite a large one in fact, but they still wanted a place to stay either for the day or a night or two if they wanted a vacation.

20 by 30 rectangle, the circular portion was about 315 in area.

0-0-0-0-0

Cleo had chosen a spot on the opposite side of the creek. Its door would open out toward a flat slab of stone about twenty feet away. The slab still had the remnants of the many campfires the group had held on it.

Lewis had already planned everything out before arriving. Geometrics. The main portion of the house would be a hexagon and the roof a six sided pyramid. It would be strong and aesthetically pleasing.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Emma let Ash finish the last line on their rectangular 20 by 40 house as she turned and watched the other couples laughing and kissing happily.

Didn't Ash want that.

"Finished babe," Ash said as he came up behind her and pecked her cheek before walking past her and joining the others.

She had to wonder, did Ash feel trapped in their relationship just because they were both Mers.

"Laurri Kapaii," Emma sighed dejectedly as she let her doubt slide and walked towards the group.

Ever since the full moon the seven Mers had found they could speak the odd fluid language, and what was odder they could speak it underwater as well.

0-0-0

With the help of Cleo and Bella the walls and furniture of each house was shaped, hardened and cured into permanent fixtures. After the first attempted the pair realized that if you didn't mix a material, such as sand, the hardened water was as clear as glass and offered no privacy.

Each of the houses if inspected closely seemed to be made of clear glass with an opaque layer of sediments in the center.

The group laughed and joked as Zane came out of the newly created community kitchen with a tray stacked with grilled fresh fish caught by Cleo's water control.

End Flashback

0-0-0-0-0

Lewis ran a hand over one of the shells Cleo had imbedded in the wall for decoration.

"So what sort of things should we add," Bella said kicking aside some pebbles.

"Well for safety I think exits are necessary I just don't know how or what kind," Lewis thought aloud.

"Well I've kind of been thinking that we need a tunnel, you know to swim from the here to the ocean for a quick get away," Rikki offered her idea.

"Why would we need that," Bella asked.

"Don't you remember when you were supposed to be Will's guide to the moon pool," Rikki said the group nodded, "Well when you changed in the water, wouldn't it have been handy to have a place where you could have just dove in and swam to the ocean."

"Uh, actually yeah that is a good idea," Cleo butted in.

And so Rikki started to heat and soften the rock while Cleo forced the water to spin Bella hardened water drill head.

In the end the tunnel became tunnels, as Lewis laid out a map of points on the island. Each point represented an entrance to the new maze of escape tunnels that laced the bedrock of the island and lead out to see.

Jumping in Bella disappeared only to reappear ten minutes later.

"Hey guys one of the tunnels lets out into an underground cave. Come on," Bella announced before turning around and disappearing again.

Hopping in one after the other the entire group dove into the maze following Bella's retreating form.

3 minutes later the five of them surfaced in a cavern the size of a football field. From end to end the place was filled with jewels, scrolls, statues and on wall hundreds of bottles filled with pickled specimens.

"Whooooa, this place is amazing," Rikki spoke up first after drying the others and herself.

"Yeah, you said it," Will agreed.

Lewis had drifted towards the stacks of thousands of yellowing scrolls that sat in a haphazard pile. By the time they reached him he was half way through reading the newest looking one that was nailed opened to the cavern wall above the pile.

"Oh my god," Lewis exclaimed, "It's in that language we speak in the water. It says, "If you are reading this then the City of Atlantis had been destroyed. Over the last year, I Prince Luru, have been hiding away the contents of the Royal treasury in hopes that if and when my kingdom fall, someone be it human or Mer will find it and rebuild what has been lost. As it is Atlantis the City of the Sea is under constant siege. The Minoan humans resent our presence in their waters despite the fact that we were here first. Rumor has it that they have joined the Egyptians and Greecian. Both these groups fear us for our powers. For good reason too, the last war that occurred between our people was decidedly one sided and their land was flooded. A human ally of ours, created a boat to preserve the humans animals and history. That ark as it were is what gave me the idea to do the same here. I cannot save the animals but at the very least I will be able to save Atlantis from being lost to history. Please I beg of you, find all the Mers of the world and make this sacred island your sanctuary. It is the purpose and destiny of all Mers to protect the sea. The transformative pool hidden within the volcano will allow those of Atlantean descent to embrace their destiny."

"HOLY SHIT," Rikki said when he finished.

"This is major," Cleo agreed.

"Wait, so by some small chance the seven of us not only have 'Atlantean' ancestors but we also meet each other out of the billions of people in the world," Will asked incredulously.

The group went silent.

"It's not chance," Bella spoke up, "It's destiny."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

A week later when the excitement had died down and the treasure and scrolls had been read and sorted, the group returned to the island to finish trapping it.

"Personally, I think we should play on the rumors of this Island being mysterious and dangerous," Rikki grinned mischievously.

That had been two days ago, now the group was arranging the human skulls they'd ordered from an anatomy catalogue at the start of each of the jungle paths near the beach.

To add to the scare factor they wrote the atlantean phrase in fish blood on a plank of drift wood beneath the skull on a pike. It held two purposes, if someone saw it they'd probably think it was an aboriginal death warning or if as they hoped another mermaid ever visited they'd see 'welcome fellow mermaid'.

The next part had been Bella's idea. She had been the one to hear the murmur of 'mermaids' around the town. Realizing that they could be recognized in their human forms, each of our tailed friends wore a carved wooden tribal masks decorated richly with black and white waterproof paint. The boys wore the masks the girls wore an opaque veil over their lower face so only their eyes could be seen.

Zane had come up with the idea to carry tridents shaped and sharpened by Cleo and permanently hardened by Bella.

Lastly they would hold perimeter patrols, there was always at least two Mers on the Island at all time.

Protocol was don't engage any trespassers unless they reach land, and then greet and order to leave. If they refuse allow passage until such time that you can pick them off in the jungle by way of tunnels. Knock unconscious and return to beach of main land as soon as possible.

And NEVER EVER take off the masks.


	5. The Contest

Chapter 5

At first Nate's dare had been a tiny thing that no one cared about.

Unfortunately, after approximately 20 different teens came back with rather odd stories of their attempts people everywhere started to become interested in this Island.

Many demanded that the government send in investigators. And they almost had, except within minutes of publicizing the fact that they were going to visit the island, they received a legal citation for attempting to enter an independent nation outside of their jurisdiction.

Unwittingly, when the bureaucrats first sold Mako Island hoping to earn a quick buck, they didn't check the zoning of the island.

Mako island was .6 miles outside of the boundary of Australian waters. When they had sold the supposedly worthless parcel of land the thin line of jurisdiction zoning that had projected out and around the island had snapped back .6 miles, legally making Mako Island a private and independent nation with its own rights and laws.

This only made the Competitors of the Mako Challenge even more determined to reach this forbidden land and claim the jackpot.

Said jackpot consisting of the money Nate originally put up and the 200 dollars each competitor had to add just to enter the contest. Seeing as no one had made it yet the jackpot was up to nearly 20,000 dollars.

"Guys this is getting out of hand," Zane said one evening around the camp fire.

"Really, because I was enjoying knocking people out and swimming them back to shore," Rikki commented sarcastically.

"It's not like we can do much else to stop it," Cleo pointed out.

The group sat silently for a moment.

"Actually, I may have an idea," Lewis spoke up, causing everyone to look at him.

"So the goal of the competition is to swim past the sharks and make it past the 'crazy natives' and get to the volcano and take a picture. Why not just make it so one of the groups makes it, knock out all but one, and trick the last one into reaching the volcano, let him snap a shot and then lead him back to the beach. Once they have the pick, maybe they'll leave us alone."

"…That may actually work," Will mulled it over in his head before agreeing.

"Alrighty then, the next group that comes we execute the plan and voila we are stupid competition free."

0-0-0-0-0

Austin Armstrong

A Member of the American Extreme Sports association

Age: 22

Adrenaline Junky

Andrew Armstrong

Parkour Extraordinaire

Age: 24

Abigail Armstrong

Swam the English channels, 3 times

Age: 23

The three sibling had heard about this competition a week ago and booked the nearest flight to the Gold coast.

Three plane tickets and a total of six hundred bucks for the entrance fee later the trio were riding a young man named Nate's yacht out to the drop off point half a mile away from the posted border.

"So you're not freaked out by the fact that every single person that has made it past the sharks doesn't remember a thing and just wakes up back on shore," a local teen asked as he interviewed the oldest competitor for his highschool newspaper.

"Well I'll admit it is a bit weird, but I really want to know what is going on out there and I love a good competition," Andrew commented.

"What do you think about what some of the witnesses say are vicious mermaids that guard the island," 'Jimmy' the reporter asked.

"Uh…You're kidding me right, what do you mean 'Mermaids," Austin cut in.

The reporter pulled his Iphone out and pulled up a cut together of the other competitors.

The video

"I didn't even make it to the beach. As soon as my brother and I past those keep out post about twenty large sharks came out of nowhere and started bumping our boat. It was scary they had to be at least 12 feet each."

Next competitor

"Me best mate Rodney and me made it to the beach but out of nowhere this girl with a hot bod and veil wearing a sea shell bra and a tattered canvas skirt came at with a trident thing and told me to leave the island. The last thing I remember is trying to run past her with my camera and then nothing I woke up on the beach with a killer headache, feeling like I'd swallowed half the ocean."

Next competitor

"I almost made it rowing to the island, it was like one minute I have oars then I pull them up to row again and they have bite marks in them and my boat is going backwards away from the Island and all I see are shark fins and I swear to god just swimming with all those frenzied sharks was this brunette girl with starfish in her hair and the bluest eyes I've ever seen."

Next competitor

"I made it into the jungle and I remember very clearly, that I was walking by what at the time I thought were just puddles of black water. They were all perfect circles just big enough for a human to come through. After I past the fourth one I realized what I had thought was my own distorted reflection, had been a face in the water. I bent over to take a closer look and a hand popped out and pulled me under. Then all I remember is a beautiful blonde face and waking up on the beach."

Video over

"There were a lot more but those are the oddest," the reporter informed the slightly rattled athletes.

"Sis its fine, those people probably didn't make it past the sharks and didn't want to look like pussies," Andrew reassured, all the while a seed of worry was growing silently inside him.

0-0-0-0

The entire group was at the Island and completely unaware of the approaching boat. Seven of them were relaxing in the main pool of the creek enjoying the sun.

Rikki was also enjoying the sun, however she was doing so while on patrol duty as she sat atop an oblong egg shaped boulder that was about 14 feet high. At the base of the boulder was a hidden entrance to the underwater maze.

Off in the distance she noticed the boat and readied her trident and put her red silk scarf in place. Her breasts were covered by the sea shell bra while her currently human lower half wore a short banana leaf skirt. The girls had found that the objects of the sea could transition unchanged from human to mermaid. So playing up her etherealness and mysteriousness she dropped down behind the boulder onto the sand and waited for the contestants to land on the beach. Cleo had ordered the Sharks to bother but allow past only the next group of people. The sharks couldn't leave off entirely or it'd be suspicious.

0-0-0-0-0

Andrew, Abigail and Austin had just been lowered in their motor/row boat into the water. Those on the yacht yelled good luck as they watch the sibling begin to motor their way to the engine cut off point.

"So here is the plan, this is a competition, no matter who gets 'taken' keep on going don't look back. It is our duty as the grandchildren of the legendary Neil Armstrong to continue his legacy and never give up," Andrew finished his 'pep' talk a second before they reach the post.

'KEEP OUT' underneath 'Puaraua Lapuakunuu,"

"I wonder what that means," Abigail questioned right as the engine cut out, "Damn you have to admit that is creepy."

"It's probably just EMP charges in each of the post," Austin tried reassuring but failing when his voice trembled.

"Doesn't matter start rowing."

The team made steady work of the last half mile but every few meters a large grey shark's fin would surface or what appeared to be a torpedo would bump the zodiak.

"Why are they doing that," Andrew suddenly blurted out, "that is not normal shark behavior."

"M-Maybe those others were right maybe there are mermaids," Austin murmured.

"Don't be stupid," Abigail snapped unsure herself.

Thud. Quickly jumping out of the boat onto the dry sand the sibling took a deep breath and grabbed their cameras and water bottles.

"Karianuu, Leave!"

The trio spun around towards the boat. How did she get behind them?

A blond woman with shells in her hair, a white and orange sea shell top and a banana leaf skirt was standing one foot on their boat, both her hand were occupied by what seemed to be a razor sharp crystal trident, her face was hidden by red cloth.

"Uh, Hello my name is Andre-"

"I don't care what your name is Leave. You are trespassing," the blond woman interrupted, "If you enter the jungle I cannot promise you will return there are MANY dangers that await those who enter without permission."

"H-how do we get permission," Abigail spoke up, the girl's unnatural beauty despite most of her face being hidden was unnerving. The worst was her golden metallic iris'.

"You don't, but be my guest enter the jungle and find what awaits you. Not all are fortunate enough to be returned to the main land," Rikki informed them you could hear the amusement in her voice.

The trio rather perturbed by this information cautiously took a few steps towards the jungle.

A competition is a competition.

Turning to look at the odd woman one more time Austin gulped as she was no where in sight and no foot prints had been left in the smooth sand to tell where she had gone.

"G-Guys I'm not sure we should do this anymore," Austin stuttered.

0-0-0-0-0

Rikki resurfaced in the main pool of the creek.

"Guys we've got three incoming contestants."

All with grins the girls dove under the water to join Rikki tridents in hand while the boys dried off and placed their masks over their face and dressing in their tribal costumes, ready to scare some idiots.

0-0-0-0-0

The siblings had only gone 100 feet into the jungle when they noticed the 'puddles' one of the competitors in that video had mentioned.

"Fuck it," Andrew muttered. Just like the video had said he could have sworn he'd seen a set of silver eyes watching him attached to a beautiful face.

"What's wrong man?" Austin asked nervously looking around him for a threat.

"Uh, guys don't go near those water holes, don't even look at them," Andrew instructed fear evident in his voice.

'Must finish the competition,' he thought to himself.

Another hundred feet and the group came to a pool about ten feet in diameter. However it wasn't the pool that had made them stop it was the beautiful blond whose mouth and nose was concealed by a gauzy white veil her hair done up in pearls. Her ample chest was barely contained by a pair of white and green sea shells that seemed to be held in place by nothing.

Her piercing green eyes caught Austin in a stare.

Her veil moved and a fluid voice began singing.

"Courageous boy, I call to theeee. Join us on our journeeey. Down beneath the deep blue seeeaa. Together we shall be freeee."

Austin and Andrew started taking small jerky steps towards the half submerged beauty. Her lower half remained concealed in the glare of the water. She had left her perch on the rock ledge and was holding her hand out towards Abigails brothers.

Scared that she might lose her brothers to whatever was on this godforsaken island she chucked her full water bottle at the blond figure missing her head and clipping her sun kissed shoulder.

It broke whatever spell she had put her brothers under because they started scrambling away from the pool as fast as they could.

The boys realizing how close they had come shouted loud enough to wake the dead their screams carrying out to sea.

The figure glared venomously at her before hissing and disappearing into the water which immediately cleared revealing a two foot deep pool that lead to what seemed like a bottomless pit in the center.

Now that the danger was apparently gone the boys seemed more confident and took a few more steps towards the pool. A moment later they were once again scrambling back and a blonde head reappeared, green eyes staring hopefully up at them.

Without further delay the trio ran past the pool back into the thick jungle and it's narrow path. They shivered as they heard hissing in the distance.

Nearly three hundred feet past without incident

Ahead was a small clearing, a break in the dark trees that let a little light in.

"I'm not sure we should go into that clearing, the last one wasn't exactly pleasant and we have no idea what that thing was," Austin whimpered, he love extreme sports but this was insane he didn't want to die on some godforsaken island.

"A siren," Abigail said.

"A what?" the brothers stopped and asked.

"A siren is a type of mermaid whose song can force men to do whatever they want them to including drown themselves or jump into shark infested waters," Abigail explained, in college she had taken a mythology class at the time it was for an easy elective, now it seemed she might need it.

"And the one on the Beach that can disappear into thin air," Austin asked.

"A Guide Wraith I guess, they are supposed to be spirits that can control nature, hence the sharks, and they stay where they died and warn others from following the same fate," Abigail whispered.

"This is all seriously messed up," Austin said, "Maybe we should go back to the beach."

"Fine you can but I am not leaving, we were taught not to be quiters and I'm not going to stop until this is done."

0-0-0-0

Ash and Will finished painting streaks of white in stripes along their abdomen.

"I finally understand why natives wear loin clothes they are ridiculously comfortable," Ash commented to Will in Atlantean.

"Totally," Ash said just as they separated and hid in the bushes. Emma had just popped up saying that they hadn't fallen for Bella's trap. They were to expect three.

0-0-0-0

In the end the trio decided that the only way to go was forward and marched cautiously into the clearing and let out a breath of air when no one was there.

"Halt, who goes there."

The trio turned to find silver eyes staring at him out of a wooden tiki mask. Another of the glass tridents was pointed at him.

"They are the trespassers Learua warned us about," another voice answered causing the sibling to turn sideways to look at them both. The new comer had purple eyes.

"How do you want to do this Ash," Will asked in Atlantean so their hostages wouldn't hear them.

"Let's freak them out follow my lead," Ash replied.

"Wh-what are you saying," the oldest asked fear infused in his attempt at a confident voice.

"We are wondering whether or not you would make good sacrifices to the Moon Goddess or if we should just kill you and feed you to the sharks," Ash said.

"You- you you can't," Abigail began crying. She had so many thing she wanted to do in life so many swim competitions and triathlons she hadn't tried yet.

Emma and Cleo were squeezed into one of the tunnel opening trying not to snicker as they worked together to draw a crescent moon with gibberish in side of it and then freeze it with a loud crackling noise that caused all of them to look down.

"Very well, then you must decide which one of you is going to leave your quest and be returned to the main land. The Great Moon Goddess has decided to test you. If you do not finish you quest you will never leave this Island and shall be sacrificed at the next full moon to the Goddess," Will said straight faced which was made surprisingly easy with a mask.

"Al-right, Austin you're the youngest you'll go back," Abigail decided suddenly. Austin was all to willing to comply.

Escorted by the two trident bearing men, the trio returned to the pool with the blond Siren who was smiling sweetly at Austin.

"Greetings Lover, Brother I see you have returned at least one of my prizes to me," Bella pretended her voice syrupy sweet and chime like as Will crouched by the pool and kissed her gently before turning to the sibling.

"Austin is it, my Mate Karunu will return you safely to the mainland," Will instructed.

Cautiously leaning forward Austin stepped into the pool.

Fast as lightning the blond figure shot out and grabbed him, disappearing with their brother into the…now clear water. It was like the water had been an opaque gel and water now once more clear fluid water.

"Is he going to be okay," Abigail asked.

"Yes, he probably won't remember much but he'll be fine," the silver eyed man assured. The two walked to the edge of the bamboo and disappeared amongst it. If they had listened they would had heard a faint splash.

Now just two the brother and sister trekked back long the trail this time making to past clearing where the men had come from.

It was quite a hike before they reached the open clearing Nate had told them about and the Volcano was in clear view. Across the center of the creek were strategically placed round stepping stones which the sibling immediately took advantage of.

Half way across the stepping stones in front of and behind them turned to water and the creek began churning.

The surface rippled and then began forming a thick snake like tentacle.

Andrew already had a rock in hand ready to throw it at the monster.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a feminine voice warned behind them.

Behind them were two figures. One was lounging with her legs crossed on the edge of a slab of rock. The second was a muscular blond figure wearing a black mask. His eyes were a glowing blood red. The woman's face was covered top to bottom with an opaque glass mask that had two slits on across the top for her vivid blue eyes and a small one across her mouth revealing luscious pink lips.

Unlike the others this man was carrying a metal spear that ended in an enormous black sharks tooth.

A highly poisonous 12 foot blue and black sea krate was resting docilely around the brunette womans shoulders. Her eyes match the electric blue of the snake.

"Did you know that Sea Krate's can kill up to 10 adults with a single bite," the brunette said. Her clothing consisted of rope and seashells layered artfully over her chest. Her intimate parts were covered by a piece of blue fabric that was tattered.

"Are you going to kill us," Abigail asked fearfully.

"No, I am merely here to ask which of you is going to pass and which of you is going to return to the main land," Cleo said calmly.

"W-who are you, people," Andrew asked.

"That is your biggest mistake. WE are not people at least not in the form that you are thinking. We are protectors of the sea and this sacred Island. That is all you need to know," Cleo smiled.

Lewis leaned down and whispered something into the brunettes ear.

"My Mate thinks we should be getting along with this test," Cleo announced, "If you are returning enter the water to the left and you will be returned."

"Abby, I should go on there is no need for you to get hurt," Andrew instructed.

"Andy, that's not fair I can do this," Abigail begged, she had to prove herself.

"I'm the oldest and I can't let you do this, I'm sorry," Andrew said as he pushed Abigail into the deeper water. Before she could exit the water, the purple eyed man from before popped out of a hole at the bottom of the pool and wrapped his arms around her his lower half never leaving the hole. A ear splitting scream left her mouth echoing from the island and then she was gone as the sediment in the water settled.

"Will she be alright," Andrew asked nervously.

No one answered and when he turned around the rock they had been sitting on was empty leaving no evidence that anyone had been there.

Prudently watching his every step Andrew sloshed through the water to the bank of the creek and continued towards the Volcano camera in hand.

0-0-0-0

Having swam the two unconscious sibling back to shore Ash and Bella rejoined the other who were meeting in the underground cavern.

"This is the last part, what's the plan," Emma asked as the other girls finished dressing her.

"You are going to be encased in a thin layer of water which Bella will harden. Thus you will look like a mermaid statue. When he gets near Bella will release you and you will 'test' him. Basically you are going to give him the riddle I told you and you are going to slowly freeze him until he answers. He'll get the answer because it's obvious and you freeze him all the way. Then one of us will take his camera snap a picture of the volcano, we'll defrost him and he'll wake up back on the mainland his memories hazy from Bella's special kiss," Lewis detailed.

"I still don't like that Bella has to kiss him," Will grumbled.

"Don't worry, babe it's more like magic CPR. Everyone knows I only like kissing you," Bella assured as she stood on her toes and kissed her husband.

0-0-0-0

So far he had made it without any more creepy supernatural events taking place.

He stopped in his tracks.

Up a head sitting on a rock next to a small pool of water was a pure white mermaid statue. It was draped in shimmering layers of white sea glass its hair adorned with a crown of spiral shells poking eight inches from her head. A silver crescent moon was painted on her forehead. Her white and silver tail was extended and just barely touching the water.

Walking towards the life like statue he pulled out his camera to take a picture.

Before he could even wind the film up he heard a voice.

"I wouldn't recommend that," the statue said.

Dropping his camera onto the sand he looked up to see the statue had been replace with an exact LIVING replica. It's Silver white eyes penetrating his soul.

"W-w-where did y-you come from," Andrew asked nervously.

The silver veil over its mouth moved with its breath.

"I haven't moved from this spot in a VERY long time. I am the Watcher. I watch over who comes and goes from this island. I watch the world from this pool as it cries desperately for help."

Waving a hand over the clear pool in front of it, the water changed and began forming icy patterns in the water. Pictures of war and famine were drawn in the surface, with another wave of her hand the water cleared.

"I watched as you and your siblings disregarded the sacredness of this because of a mere juvenile contest," Emma said solemnly, on the inside it was taking everything she had no to laugh as she saw her friends in the tunnel beneath her using their powers to keep up the illusion.

"I-We had no idea we just thought it was another stupid dare," Andrew quickly apologized.

"No matter, that is in the past. Now you must finish the test. Answer me this riddle. If you answer wrong you will die, answer correctly and you live. You have three tries."

"What is it," Andrew steeled himself, he never was any good at riddles.

"What has legs on land and fins in the water. What protects the sea from the land."

"Frog."

"No, answer carefully your life depends on it," Emma warned as she waved her hand and his body up to his thighs froze solid.

"Wh-whats happening to me," Andrew gasped unable to move his legs.

"If you do not answer correctly you will be frozen solid and never again wake," Emma informed, "If you answer correctly you'll be returned to land.'

'Legs on land and fins in the water. What had all the other competitors warned them about. Mermaids. The last girls had mentioned being protectors of the sea. Mermaids it was so simple, maybe he was going to survive this.'

"Mermaids, the answer is mermaids," Andrew blurted out.

"Correct farewell human," Emma said as she waved her hand and he began to freeze.

"AAAAAAAAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAH," Andrew started scream fearfully, "I THOUGHT IF I DID WHAT YOU WANTED YOU'D LET ME GO."

She didn't answer she just smiled as the ice edged up his body.

"HEEEELLLLP SOMEBODY HEEELP, THEY'RE GOING TO KILLL MEEEE. ANYBODYYYY PLEEEA-"

Emma sighed as he finished freezing and she dried of returning to human form. The girls pulled them self out of the pool and dried off to join the boys who had just exited the bush they were hiding in.

"Well that was interesting," Lewis joked as he grabbed the camera, wound the film and snapped a picture of volcano. Bella and Rikki grabbed the body lowered it into the water carefully so it didn't shatter. Lewis handed them the disposable water proof camera and the two disappeared with their cargo off to deliver him to shore.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Nate had anchored the yacht when the siblings had started towards the island. Setting up a long distance camera he sat back as it recorded the trio's attempt. His plan was to cancel the contest and keep the money, he sincerely doubted that these idiots would be the ones to make it after nearly 200 others had failed.

He was mildly interested when they made it all the way to the beach and almost dropped his binoculars in shock when a blond woman with a trident came out from behind a boulder and scared the trio. Words were shared with the figures on the beach and while the siblings walked towards the jungle something no one else had managed to do, he saw the blond figure with the trident dive into the water never to resurface. He shivered with fear, were the mermaid rumors true. Had he just sent someone to their death.

The teenagers on the boat waited and waited for some sign of life, when all of a sudden an eerie other world song drifted out to the boat.

""Courageous boy, I call to theeee. Join us on our journeeey. Down beneath the deep blue seeeaa. Together we shall be freeee."

The words were too distinct it was creepy as if it were calling to him. The song stopped, and when he realized where he was he jumped back. He and the 3 other boys on the boat had attempted to jump of the edge of the boat into the water. The five girls were yanking and pulling them away.

"What was-"

" WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT THING," a set of male voices shouted.

"N-Nate this is getting really creepy, maybe we should call the coast guard."

For once Miriam might be right he thought as he grabbed the radio receiver and called for help.

The coast guard arrived quickly and boarded.

"What seems to be the matter gentlemen," an officer asked, he looked to be about 40.

"Three of our friends went to Mako Island and they made it into the jungle. We heard this woman singing and then screams. Here I have it on tape I'll show you," Nate said as he rewound the camera and showed the officer what happened.

"Well that is concerning but are you not aware that Mako Island is not in our jurisdiction and we can't just go get your friends," the Officer said apologetically, "The best we can do is wait here with you. I'll call my department head and see if he can do anything but other than that your friends are on their own."

Right as he said that a feminine scream came from the Island before abruptly cutting off.

"What the hell could be on that Island," the Officer wondered to the agreement of the teens and his partner who was having a rather scary first day.

Nothing was heard for quite a while until a singular scream was shouted.

""AAAAAAAAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAH I THOUGHT IF I DID WHAT YOU WANTED YOU'D LET ME GO."

"HEEEELLLLP SOMEBODY HEEELP, THEY'RE GOING TO KILLL MEEEE. ANYBODYYYY PLEEEA-" it was cut off.

"That's horrible," Miriam said burrowing her head into Nate's shoulder.

A few minutes later and unconscious Andrew Armstrong popped to the top of the water camera in hand near the back of boat. Two torpedo like figures leaving wakes as they sped back to the Island.

Fearing something more the teens grabbed Andrew and sped towards the mainland thoroughly shaken.

0-0-0-0-0

On the other side of the island the group was celebrating the victory.

Out in the lagoon two dolphins were flipping and eeking.

"Hey, Emma look at that," Cleo said pointing to the dolphins which were oddly enough using their tails to keep their bodies out of the water and were holding a banner stretched between them.

It said 'Emma will you marry me, Ash"

Emma spun around to find her boyfriend kneeling in the sand holding a ring made of mother of pearl with three diamonds set in the center.

"YES, YES, FINALLYY," Emma yelled excitedly as she threw herself at Ash, "I feel like I've been waiting forever.

"Sorry for making you wait love," Ash grinned, "I wanted to make it memorable."


	6. The Ascension

Chapter 6

"What the hell," Rikki kicked at the sand in exasperation.

"Calm down, sweetheart," Zane attempted to soothe his wife, "We have to be patient."

"PATIENT? How patient can I be the signs have been up for nearly six months," Rikki exclaimed kicking the sand again.

It was true. Waiting desperately for any sign that other mermaids existed seemed futile at this point, seeing as the only way a mermaid would know to stop was if they actually swam by. By now it seemed that the three boys and four girls were the only ones in the area.

"We'll figure something out," Zane assured. Rikki stiffened before twisting out of his grip and racing towards the jungle.

"Zane get the others and tell them to meet me in the Cavern," Rikki yelled right before diving into the tunnel entrance behind a bush.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Why are we down here," Emma asked as she peered in a jar at a preserved one eyed baby shark.

"Because I think that the Prince left something in here that might help us in contacting other mermaids," Rikki said perusing the piles of unknown items.

"That'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack," Ash retorted.

"Not really. It's either going to be in the scrolls or that pile of 80 or so things that Lewis couldn't identify," Rikki stated, "The sooner we start the sooner we fulfill our Atlantean destiny—"

As soon as Rikki had said the words Atlantean destiny a bright light filled the room.

When the light dimmed and the group could open their eyes again, they found a large spiral nautilus shell which seemed to be made of sculpted gold floating above the pile of unknown objects.

Smack. OW.

"What was that," Will said rubbing his temple. Bella instead of doctoring Will as she normally would have, had been distracted by the glowing scroll which had just smacked her husband upside the head.

"Guys, come look at this," Bella called out to the group which had congregated around the floating shell. Once they reached her she began to read aloud.

"As a member of the Royal Family, it is within my abilities to choose the next heir or heirs to the throne. I have foreseen the future of Atlantis and its destruction, as well as the coming of eight important individuals. Seven Mers, 1 human. Take the shell you see before you. It is the Atlantean Herald, and as such has to ability to call anyone or all Mers from anywhere in the world. However to use it you must be Royalty. As such I have decided to reward your assistance in this matter by naming the eight of you the Kings and Queens of Atlantis. The future of all Mers rest in your capable hands, to claim your right the eight of you must place your moonstones into the notches of the shell at the same time on a Full Moon. The necessary ritual is described on the scroll inside of the Nautilus. To the human, your part is most vital. It is because Atlantis lost contact with humanity that Atlantis is in its current situation. One day with your help Atlantis will reenter the world once again a strong kingdom."

"Holy shit, this is-is Awesome," Lewis shouted stupidly breaking the others shocked demeanors and raising a laugh.

"Well as he said this is our destiny, so the only thing left to do is wait for a Full moon."

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It had taken all three of the boys to get the heavy shell even a quarter of the way to the surface when Cleo had the bright idea to push it up with water.

A week had passed and the eight of them awkwardly stood naked in the center of the flat slab of rock usually reserved for bonfires.

"If I find out this is a joke and I stripped for no reason, I swear to god I'll drown you all," Zane joked as he placed his moonstone into the last open notch on the shell. With all the stones in place, the group began chanting in unison.

"With the moon as our witness, we claim the throne of Atlantis given to us by the last living prince of our fallen kingdom."

It had long been decided who would receive what domain. So they began their words in Atlantean.

"I, Ash Dove vow to protect the seas with all my power and the force of the Tides."

"I, Bella Benjamin vow to protect the seas with all my power and the aide of Plants."

"I, Cleo Sertori vow to protect the seas with all my power and the aide of Animals."

"I, Emma Gilbert vow to protect the seas with all my power and the force of the Moon."

"I, Lewis McCartney vow to protect the seas with all my power and the force of Magic."

"I, Rikki Bennett vow to protect the seas with all my power and the force of the Sun."

"I, Will Benjamin vow to protect the seas with all my power and the aide of the Earth."

"I, Zane Bennett vow to protect the seas as the liaison to humans and the aide of Compulsion."

The Shell left their hands and began spinning in the air above them.

All of a sudden a beam of light left the shell and connected with the moon which was directly overhead. Before they could move eight lights connected with them and they felt a weight around their necks as the light cleared and the Shell floated gently to the ground stilling glowing.

Looking at their chest each of them wore a large thin circular medallion with a pair of crossed tridents embossed on them. The only difference was that each one had a different symbol behind the tridents. Ash had an intricate drawing of sapphire waves, Emma an opal crescent moon, Bella a spiral of emerald vines, Cleo a dolphin and a shark curved in a circle nose to tail, Rikki's had an ornate carving of the sun it rays jetting out is long thin curves. Lewis' had a pentagram, Will's had a mountain, and Zane's was an aboriginal style drawing of a man with is arms and legs bent as if he was struggling to carry a heavy load.

"Can we get dressed now," Lewis asked hopefully. The group stood silently for a moment before everyone burst into laughter.

The night continued with a celebration, unknowing that they had just summoned every mermaid that was in need of a home.

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	7. The Girl

AN: Upto ten Mers will be joining the story. Create your own Mer and if its good I'll use it. To do so review with the following

Name:

Gender:

Tail color:

Origin:

Power:

Age:

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Chapter 7 Penny for your thoughts

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When Cleo and Lewis set the ward lines up they were not aware that when a Mer with a different kind of stone crossed them that everyone wearing a blue one would feel like ice was spreading from the stone.

Due to the Medallion's presence the eight of them had allowed Will to refashion their stones into bracelets.

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Bella Benjamin loved shopping almost as much as she loved her family. Okay that was a slight exaggeration but she did love it very much. Her much loved husband was trailing behind her his arms laden with a number of bags filled with clothes. Bella's were filled with her oversized canvas purse and three Victoria Secret bags. They were a surprise for her husband so she couldn't chance him getting a piece.

The couple was just reaching the car and began filling its boot as a woman with 3 children all under ten wandered past.

It was like someone had just dowsed the two of them in painfully cold ice water. Bella fell to her knees clutching her wrist in pain.

"Dear are you alright you don't look so good," the passing woman had stopped to check on Bella. The moonstone started glowing and pulsing with an almost heart beat like sound.

"I-I'm fine I just fell is all," Bella said standing and bracing herself against the car.

"Will are you alright," Bella called, no one answered. Two cars down the three children were crouched around a man who was groaning in pain as his skin turned ice blue and began hardening at the wrist. She looked down and noticed the same on her but at a much slower rate.

"Oh goodness, what is going on," the mother exclaimed, staring openly at the ice that was spreading up his arm from the brightly flashing stone.

"B-bella we ARGG- need to get to the others," Will groaned in pain. Why was it affecting him more than her

"I'm calling an ambulance," the woman said pulling her children away from the now unconscious man.

"That really isn't necessary he'll be fine," Bella tried to assuage.

"I highly doubt that his arm is turning into ice," the mother argued disgruntled as she began explaining the situation to the Emergency Responder.

"They'll be here in a few minutes," the woman announced staring worriedly at Bella as she waved her hand in a fist over his arm. The spreading ice seemed to slow by half but there was no stopping it.

"What are you doing," the Woman who children were now also staring asked.

"I'm trying to save my husband," Bella snapped, they needed to get to Mako. Her own arm only had two inches in either direction of the stone turned icy. Will's however was nearly to his shoulder.

"How are you doing that," the mother asked. Instead of answering Bella grabbed her phone and speed dialed Rikki while keeping her other hand over Will's arm harden the icy energy so that it didn't spread farther.

"Rikki, Will needs help our stones are attacking us and I can't get them off," Bella exclaimed.

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Rikki and Zane had been enjoying a slow day at the café. Enough people to make it profitable but not too many to force them into turbospeed.

When it hit Zane seemed barely affected. A quick ouch and he wasn't affected farther.

Rikki on the other hand fell off the stool she had been sitting on and landed with an oooph on her butt.

Other than that the only thing that affected them was the stares of the customers at their brightly glowing jewelry. Without explanation the two stood up and hurried to the office just in time for Rikki's phone to ring. It was Bella.

"Rikki, Will needs help, our stones are attacking us and I can't get them off," Bella exclaimed.

"I'll be right there," Rikki replied before hanging up.

"Zane take the boat and go to Mako I'll meet you there with the others."

Rikki grabbed her keys and raced out the door.

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Seeing as it was Lewis' turn to patrol the Island Cleo decided today would be a good day to go visit her Mother. The mother she hadn't visited in two months and was actually a bit pissed at because the last visit had ended with her mother announcing that she was pregnant by Cleo's stepfather. Cleo hadn't said anything untoward to her mother she had merely smiled and excused herself saying the Lewis had just texted her about wedding plans and left.

At the moment she was sipping lemonade through a straw while her mother chattered on about what was to be Cleo's new baby sister.

"So we've decided to name her either Katherine or Courtney. Which do you prefer," her mother asked cheerfully. Now that Cleo was nearing 21 years of age her mother had stopped treating her like a child and more like that best friend she liked shopping with.

"Not Courtney it sounds too much like Lewis' surname. Courtney, McCartney," Cleo offered, she had relaxed somewhat to the idea. At least her mother was happy.

"I suppose, where is Lewis anyway," Beverly asked.

"Doing some work out on the reefs," Cleo lied.

"He always seems to be out there," Bev said.

"Well he is a marine biologist so it's kind of expected," Cleo retorted.

"Calm down sweetie, I didn't mean anything by it—"

"Cleo, are you alright," Bev asked concerned.

Cleo had just doubled over gasping as she clutched her arm.

"Ugh, y-yeah I-I'm f-fine," Cleo groaned.

"Here let me see," Bev said grabbing her arm before Cleo could move.

"What in the world," Beverly exclaimed staring at her daughter ice cold bluing arm.

"It's n-nothing I've got to go." Cleo jumped up cradling her arm to her stomach and dove into the canal next to her mother's house forgetting her car in the drive way. She swam to Mako as fast as possible carefully dodging boats and reefs.

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Emma was impervious to cold. She was the Guardian of the Moon and Ice after all. In fact the only reason she even noticed the moonstone's affect was because Ash had just jumped out of bed butt naked with a shout of pain.

"Babe, what are doing," Emma asked groggily as she pulled her robe around her naked body.

"Ow, fuck," Ash muttered, "The moonstone feels like a fucking icicle."

"Language, here let me see," Emma said. After what Rikki called the Royalitization, each of the groups powers had grown. Including Zane's when he looked into another human's eyes they seemed to automatically agree and do whatever he wanted. Emma on the other hand got better control of Ice. Not just creating it but making it disappear heat free. It made drying much easier. Just freeze the water and make it disappear.

In this case she ran her hand over Ash's arm and the icy flakes disappeared.

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Lewis was astonished. He couldn't move. Sitting in a tree, he had been watching the water in the distance for boats and people. So imagine his surprise when a beautiful Asian woman with an aquamarine scaled, and yellow finned tail dragged herself on shore. It was obvious she couldn't seem him from his perch in the man groves.

Dropping down from the limb he had been sitting on, he cautiously edged towards the woman hoping not to scare her away. Around her neck was a white shell with a green stone in it. Covering her breast were a pair of smoothed coconut halves. She didn't look to be more than 18.

"Hey," Lewis shouted once he was within twenty feet of her.

Eyes widened in fear the bronze skinned mermaid dove back into the surf.

Without hesitating Lewis dove into the water and once transformed raced after her trail of bubbles.

The woman stopped swimming and hid behind a massive coral, obviously thinking she was now alone.

Slowing down, Lewis used his hand to pull him around the edge of the reef. The woman froze when she recognized his face, her eyes the size of saucers thinking she had been caught.

Lewis smiled and pointed down, the woman's eyes followed and widened when she saw his tail. Suddenly, she smiled as her body seemed to relax. She stiffened again when her eyes fell on the golden medallion around his neck. Lewis beckoned her to follow him. So with caution she did.

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Bella was frantic. The paramedics had arrived and a small crowd had gathered to see what was happening. Will was on a stretcher as the EMT's probed and poked his arm in wonder. Moment by moment the Ice was slowly receding leaving his arm perfectly intact.

"I told you I'm fine," Will protested as they checked his blood pressure.

"Jesus Christ," the EMT at his arm said, "His blood pressure is 60/40 how the hell are you alive."

"I'm a deep sea diver, my blood pressure is always low," Will lied.

"Low would be one thing, you blood pressure is that of a 90 year old woman during cardiac arrest," the EMT exclaimed, "We need to take you to the hospital."

"I said I'm FINE," Will said pulling the monitors off and jumping of the stretcher inside the ambulance to the ground in one smooth move. Since the ritual each member of the group had found they were stronger, more agile and more resistance to injury.

"How are you walking let alone jumping around like a monkey," the Senior EMT asked his eyes wide.

Will didn't answer he just jumped into the passenger side of the their car as Bella hit the gas and peeled out of the parking lot. Rikki was in the back seat having secretly warmed his arm from a distant.

Behind them one of the EMT's was reading the last of the heart monitor's readouts.

"Boss, you should see this," he called out. The senior EMT stared at the results.

"20 beats per minute how is he alive."

"That's not all boss," another EMT announced, holding a thermometer up its last taken temperature still recorded.

"72 degrees," the boss' eyes were wide, "G-guys I don't think he was human."

Will Benjamin's emergency and it's results were sent to the Head of the EMT department who when he read them sent them to his friend the Senator. Said senator recognized the name as one of the names that had been on the list of co-owners of Mako Island. The same list he had read when he had attempted to send men to investigate the Island.

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"So you say you're from Sri Lanka," Emma asked politely. The nine of them sat in the creek pool. The girl had introduced herself as penyihir dari laut, the daughter of the sea, or as she preferred Penny for short.

"Yes, I have been living their alone since the tsunami a few years ago killed my parents and destroyed my tribe," she said somberly.

"Was everyone in your tribe like you," Lewis asked curiously. Will was off to the side with Bella who was sitting in the sand with her legs crossed, as she massaged her husband's neck.

"No, I was to be the medicine shaman. Each shaman before me man or woman has been a Mer. To be apprenticed I was taken to a secret underwater cave on the full moon and told to wait there until morning. I was not allowed to leave no matter what. When they let me out in the morning I had an orange tail. That was when I was 14, last year before the disaster I finished my apprenticeship and on a special full moon I was taken to the cave again and when I emerged I had this tail. I see you have fully mature tails too, I also noticed you are wearing the medallions of King Triton."

"Uh, these yeah, the Last prince of Atlantis left them for us. He said we were to take the throne after him and rebuild Atlantis to its former glory," Rikki explained, "That's why we are trying to call mermaids to the island."

"You will only receive Lost Mers, a Mer without a place to belong, are the only kind that can hear a sanctuary call," Penny explained.

"I noticed you have a green moonstone," Bella said.

"Yes, the pool I was changed in was a pool of life, it produces green Kemala's like this pool of moon produced blue. You are a daughter of life born in a moon pool Kusuma."

"Kusuwhat," Bella asked, "and what's a Kemala."

"Kusuma, it means flower, it is the name of the Mer princess who wears the medallion of Loji or plants," said, "You all wear a medallion that was once worn by the Atlantean Royalty. Each medal signifies what kind of Guardian you are and what your responsibility is. A Kemala is a magic stone I believe you called it a moonstone. Anyway I recall there being seven medallions however, I do not remember their being a medallion for a human."

"Prince Luru created it, he said that I was to be the bridge between humans and Mer," Zane spoke up.

"Penny what are the names of the rest of us," Rikki asked eagerly. She tended to be the first to embrace all things mermaid.

"Cleo you are Nuri the Guardian of Animals. It means colorful bird, because your medallion gives you the ability to turn into an enormous eagle of many colors."

"Cool I've always wanted to fly," Cleo said daydreaming.

"Rikki you are Kirana or Cahaya both mean light or sun. You must be cautious with your powers for they can cause much destruction."

"Got it," Rikki said, trying to choose which name she liked better,

"Emma, you are Ndari, it means Full moon. Lewis you have the Medallion of the Sihir the last great wizard of Atlantis. Ash you are named Semasan it means Tides or Current."

"You're a wizard Harry, I mean Lewis," Will joked causing everyone but Penny to laugh she looked confused.

"It's from a book," Emma explained feebly, Penny just waved her away.

"Will you are Lemah, it means earth or ground."

"Bit girly but whatever," Will chuckled leaning his head back to kiss his waiting wife.

"So I guess I don't have a name then," Zane said with a shrug.

"Actually my Mentor once told me a story in one of my history lessons of a human who was given the ability to breath underwater because of his bravery in saving a Mer princess. As long as he lived in Atlantis and negotiated with the humans there was peace in the world. His name was Lelakin, it means man literally in Malay. Malay was derived from Atlantean," Penny explicated.

"That's so cool, I will I had had a mentor to teach me about Atlantean and Mermaid history," Bella said happily.

"Well now you do, if you'll have me I'd like to stay here with you. I am tired of living alone without anyone to talk to or that understands," Penny said sadly.

"Of course the more the Merrier."

With the last of the evening light Bella and Cleo set about building and furnishing, a cottage of her own.

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AN: That was the first of many. I love reviews people :D. Any way in the future the humans are going to start noticing things and get worried. Everyone knows what happens when human don't understand something.


	8. The New Comers

H2O ROOOOOCCCKS 6/4/12 . chapter 7

Name: Rose/Venus

Gender: female

Tail color: Pale Pink scales with white metal top. hair pink blond

Origin: Santorini sixth generation atlantean mermaid. Father was a Mer mother human, Father disappeared and mother gave her up for adoption when she was born. when she was 15 she was on a trip with the orphanage and was drawn to a hidden pool in the cliffs of a salt island. When she was changed she was given a double ended spear that said sentire est potentia.

Power: She can make any person fall in love with another, or hate each other with the spear of aphrodite. can change water into any substance including gold it is hard for her to control so some times she changes things randomly

Age: 17

Name: Leon

Gender: Male

Tail color: lion fish patterned tail

Origin: ran away after christian family disowned him for 'satan magic' when they found out he turned in Mer on a winter soltstice full moon when he was 11 lived in ocean ever since. bit childish learned everything he knows from different libraries. born and changed in Bermuda triangle.

Power: Magic Venom, affects you based on personality or what you did to make him upset

Age: 20

Tampico97 6/4/12 . chapter 7

Name: Alison

Gender: Female

Tail color: color and pattern of ornate butterfly fish

Origin: Somewhere in atlantic you pic. 3rd generation. ran away from home when she was young. got a family bible when she turned eighteen that said her grandmother had been been a Mer but that her Mother had given up her power to be human and marry a human man. her mother died when she was 3 and her father was clueless about mermaids.

Power: she can dazzle people as well as extreme strength can lift up to 1000 pounds as if it were nothing.

Age: 19

Remember tweaks may happen.

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Chapter 8

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After a week Penny had settled in and was purifying the water around Mako. To the other's it had always seemed clean and healthy but with Penny's instruction the group worked in tandem to clean the impurities from the water and heal the dying the reef.

"Bella, Cleo you must work in harmony. Coral is made of both plant and animal and as such will not respond to only one of you," Penny explained.

Bella had been trying to heal the coral to no avail. Now with Cleo she gave another attempt and gasped happily as the white reef began to change. The entire twenty foot length of different dead and dying coral began to burst into color.

"It's beautiful," the girls exclaimed turning and embracing their new friend.

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Nate was curious. Over the past week the normal pretty reefs on the other side of the new Mako boundary line seemed to become even more dazzling and colorful.

On more than one occasion he had also seen the torpedo shaped objects that had returned the last contest, race through the water.

Nate was selfish he knew this and accepted it. He also thought himself smart, sadly on this count he was rather wrong. As such Nate spent nearly all of the last month attempting to capture what he called in his mind, 'dumb fishes'.

In his mind catching one would bring him fame and fortune beyond that of even his father. He had asked his friend Zane to assist him, but oddly his friend laughed and said mermaids don't exist.

So here he was with Miriam the only one who was willing to help him, watching the fish sonar hoping for their prey to get tangled in the net behind the yacht.

Every other person he had asked had either called him crazy for believing in mermaids or was one of the few who believe and had told him not to anger them.

Yeah right, he had been catching fish as large as a 400 pound marlin since he was twelve. No big dumb fish, mythical or not was going to get the better of him.

All of a sudden a rather odd shape popped up on his fish sonar. It was coming at his net at nearly 100 miles an hour, the now familiar V shaped was gracing the water to the left of his boat. If it didn't stop it was definitely going to get snagged in his net.

Wham. The whole boat shuddered when the net was pulled taught and the 'torpedo' lay still. If Nate was lucky his prey would be unconscious and easily retrieve.

Racing to the edge of his boat Nate waited anxiously as Miriam pulled the lever that started the cable stool to bring in the net.

His prey was till twenty feet down in the water but he could make out her thin human half which merged smoothly with a long thin pink fish tail. Radiating out around her face was light pink almost blonde hair. Clutched in her hand was a long golden spear, that was lethally sharpened on both ends.

Mesmerized by this beautiful sight Nate stared at her form which was now at 15 feet depth. His whole body jolted when her eyes flung open and stared at him first with surprise and them with anger. From his perch on the back of the boat he could hear an odd fluid cursing that spread through the water around him. Looking up and around for the source he was startled and a bit fearful to see three torpedo with their distinct V wakes rapidly closing in on his boat.

His prey was ten feet from the surface and struggling violently.

Grabbing his video camera Nate switched it on and pressed record.

The wakes disappeared and below the boat he could see the blurry shapes waving his hands at the net. What was that supposed to do?

His question was answered almost immediately when ice spread up the net quite visibly leaving layers of snowflakes on the individual cables. All of a sudden the now brittle cables snapped and the ice disappeared. Just as quickly as they had come four V shaped wakes disappeared towards Mako.

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Rose Vasallo sat still shaking from her near capture experience in a cavern deep beneath a volcano. Eight others sat with her attempting to calm the shocked girl.

"Sweetie, it's alright you're among your own kind now," Emma said soothingly as she rubbed the girls back. With a flash of movement the girl dropped the spear she had been holding and flung her arms around Emma's shocked torso.

"Thank you for saving me," Rose blurted.

"It's quite alright sweet heart," Emma smiled patting her back before pushing her back in a sitting position, "Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself."

Taking a deep breath Rose began her story. It was a tale of tragedy and abandonment. Rose had been born to a loving couple in Greece. Her mother had been human and her Father a sixth generation Mer. For most of her life they had been happy until her father was killed by a man who had learned his secret and wanted to control him. Both men had died in the attempt and Rose's mother had died of a broken heart a month later. She had been ten at the time and to spend the next five years at the local orphanage. During a day trip when she was 15 she had gotten in a fight with one of her dorm mates and ran off hoping to enjoy a private fin. Since the time she was 7 she had an orange tail and she had always been able to breath underwater. However that fateful day she had followed a drawing feeling she had felt and swam into an underwater cave made entirely of white marble. At noon the Sun came overhead and the water had bubbled and when it cleared her tail and hair had become pink. After she had dried off and her hair returned to blonde, she had explored the cave and found a mermaid statue with pink hair and tail. At the time it was as if the statue was calling to her and when she touched it she transformed again and she was wearing an ornate golden metal breast cover and she knew exactly how to use the magnificent double ended gold spear. One end was a pink and white razor sharp spiral shell while the other was a dark red and black Sharks tooth. She never returned to the orphanage and had swam around making people fall in love or hate each other depending on whether they were meant for each other, something she could tell just by looking at them.

"Wow, that's so cool," Cleo crooned causing the other to chuckle, "And your Kemala is gorgeous."

"Thanks," Rose said as she lifted her milky pink stone from her chest.

"I guess that's a Sun stone not a Moon stone then," Lewis inferred.

"Yeah, my father gave it to me after my first transformation. He said it had been worn by the oldest child in family since the first generation of Mers," Rose said proudly.

"Now that I think about it you've been a Mermaid way longer than any of us. Geez if I could have been a Mer since birth I'd give my left caudal fin," Rikki said longingly.

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A week had passed and the girls had taken Rose and Penny shopping. Outfitting each of them with a full wardrobe of their choice. Rose tended to pinks and white, while Penny preferred light blues and yellows.

Cheerfully chatting the girls were sipping their smoothies at the Café when Nate came in his face so smug it looked like his lips were going to rip.

Rose gave a low hiss at seeing him.

"Ladies and Gentleman please turn your attention to the large sports screen next to the bar. The local news is about to present something important."

Everyone in the building turned right as the 'Channel 7 News' emblem appeared and the anchor began talking.

"Breaking News, a local teen has just turned in ACTUAL footage of the rumored Mako Island Mermaids, that is has been said live in the shark infested water surrounding the mysterious island. Watch."

A video clip filled the screen.

Mako could be seen in the distance off the back of a large white boat the water in between the two was marked with three fast approaching V shaped wakes from which odd cursing was coming from.

Wind could be heard whipping past the camera's microphone but the sound it was recording completely drowned it out.

"Kapuano, Kapuano. Laruaua Kapuano. Pelea, pelea Kapuano Kalukuuun!" came the sound of frantic fluid cursing. (the noise sent shivers down the café's occupants.

The camera's view turned down at the water beneath his boat showing three distinctly half human half fish in the clear water. Their bright tails contrasting with their white skin. Their faces were indistinguishable as the blond figure with a white tail began waving her had at the metal net that held the pink figure. The Camera's view followed the centimeter thick ice as it quickly spread up the cables and snapped the now brittle metal. The Ice disappeared and the camera continued filming as the four v's raced towards the island.

Once they had disappeared from view, the camera turned to reveal Nate and Miriam.

"My name is Nate Cunningham and I just proved the existence of Mermaids at Mako."

The video disappeared to reveal the anchors.

"Is it real or is it a hoax. You decide."

The News cut to commercial and the people who had watched the clip turned wide eyed to Nate and started cheering.

"Good on your Nate."

"Better be careful you might have angered them," another jokes.

"That might have been the prettiest fish I've ever seen."

And more

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During the commotion Rikki had stood up angrily and raced unnoticed by all out of the café, dove into the water and resurfaced a mile away at Nate's beach front property.

Temper flaring, she evaporated the water in his pool leaving scorch marks, melted his patio furniture and with controlled motions wrote a warning across his the wall of his two story house.

With another twist of her fist she could sense the metal of his plumbing turning to slag.

Happy with her work she dove back into the water and swam away.

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After the initial panic the group calmed down and regrouped at Rikki and Zane's sizable living room. The news was replaying the clip in the background.

"Okay, if we just lie low and try not to draw any attention to ourselves this should die down and hopefully we'll be able to pretend it was all a hoax," Emma instructed calmly.

"Actually, about that drawing attention to ourselves part…," Rikki started slowly. Just as she said this the news came back from a commercial break.

"More Breaking News, earlier today we brought to light a video of what could possibly be visual proof of mermaids. Mere hours later we are at the house of the same young man who recorded said video. Our field correspondent is waiting, George it back to you."

The scene changed to live feed of the back of Nate's house.

"Mr. Cunningham, what exactly are we seeing here," the George Gill asked.

"Well I came home about an hour after your station released my video and I found this. My pool has been emptied and burnt, all the water sources and metal or plastic in my house seem to have been melted. Finally as you can see right behind me, there is a two story tall scorch mark," Nate narrated, "I have reason to believe that one of the mermaids has a fire power and they did this."

"Yes, I see, for our audiences it appears that the burn marks are in the shape of two tridents crossed over a sun. Very mysterious indeed. Back to you Tim."

The clip returned to the studio anchor.

"RIKKIIII," everyone shouted exasperatedly.

"What, he deserved it," Rikki muttered darkly.

"Be that as it may, you can't go around vandalizing this with magic," Emma scolded.

"I don't see why not, in Indonesia when a human or another tribe insulted or injured a Mer like this we would have used our magic to burn their house to the ground," Penny offered helpfully.

"How do you burn a house down with healing powers," Lewis asked confused.

"Spells not inborn magic like Rikki's. Rikki is just lucky to be able to do things like that without preparation," Penny answered.

"Can we do spells too?" Cleo asked she had really enjoyed that wish potion despite it's bad smell.

"Yes, all you need is-."

"Penny later now we need to focus on the problem at hand," Emma ordered.

"No need to be bossy Emma," Bella admonished.

"Sorry, I'm just worried."

"What I don't understand is why you're upset. I mean didn't that Prince Luru dude say that you were supposed to bring Atlantis back into the open," Rose asked confused.

"Yes, but we are nowhere near ready for something of that magnitude. We need to build, gather more Mers and then tentatively send liaisons to meet with the humans," Emma laid out carefully.

"Whatever, I'll keep my anger in check. Now what we need is to go put up some walls around Mako so things like this stop happening."

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In the dead of night Bella, Cleo and Penny swam out to the edge of the Mako boundary line Cleo and Lewis had set with the blue Kemala and began erecting gleaming walls of solidified water around the Island. Each section was a curved portion of the ward line around the island. Its lowest point was 20 feet high and it sloped to 30 feet to the outer edge of each section. Cleo prided herself on the aesthetic quality it had.

"I think we should decorate it," Penny said with an excited grin.

"Really with what?" Bella asked.

"Well the original Atlantis had an enormous Oyster shell imbedded in each section and two statues of King Triton on either side of the gate," Penny explained.

"What gate we only made walls with secret holes for animals and Mer to go through," Cleo asked confused.

"Exactly you can't have a kingdom if there is no grand entrance," Penny stated matter of factly.

The girls lips curved into conspiratorial grins.

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At first light the Atlantis crew stood in a line on the beach staring at the enormous 60 foot tall gate that towered over the rest of the wall. In the end the three 'designers' hadn't made statues of Triton. Instead they had enormous spiral shell shaped watch towers each with a bright blue Kemala lantern in them to act as lighthouses. The gate itself consisted of two long slim planks of Bella's hardened water, except instead of making it solid it was an intricately laid out twist of random swirls of water. From a distance you could tell they made a pair of tridents crossing.

"Why, why, why can you guys not follow simple instructions," Emma begged frustrated.

"Hey, I for one like them," Rikki argued.

"Me, too they add a sort of majesty to the place. You know a kind of importance," Rose agreed.

"Thank you, at least someone appreciates our hard work," Bella hmmphed.

"It's not that I don't like them it's just you put the same symbol on the gate that Rikki put on Nate's house."

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On the other side of the wall a news crew was on Nate's yacht snapping shots of the wall that magically appeared overnight.

"This proves there are mermaids; no human could have had a nearly 5 mile long wall built in one night. Let alone that enormous gate. The symbol alone proves that they vandalized my house," Nate expounded to the camera.

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"I feel someone should go teach those idiots a lesson," Rikki said cracking her knuckles and running towards the water. Bella, Cleo and Will were right behind to make sure she didn't hurt anyone. Once they reached the watch tower of the gate and the trio surfaced.

"Rikki wait," Bella grabbed Rikki and pushed her under water, hardened the water over her face so as to only leave slits for her golden eyes and nose. Rikki nodded her thanks and began climbing the ladder up to the top of the tower. Bella repeated this for herself, Will and Cleo and they joined Rikki in the tower.

"Here is the plan of action. Warn them to leave our water or we will sink on their boat. If they don't I am more than happy to melt that boat to the coral reef and make it a fish playground," Rikki said with a smirk.

"Try not to hurt anyone please, it wouldn't be good for future relations with the humans," Will implored tiredly, as if scolding a small child.

"I'll be good," Rikki said innocently.

"Rikki perhaps I should be the one to 'punish' them we don't need a bunch of burning oil everywhere if you sink the boat," Will said clutching his trident tightly.

Rikki shrugged her agreement and left the tower, walking carefully along the two foot wide wall until she stopped in front of the yacht which remained 500 feet away to avoid stalling.

Clearing her thought and making it high and more feminine Rikki called out to the boat.

"Greeting, I must inform you that you are in our waters, please remove yourselves or I'll remove you for you," Rikki said in a sweet girly voice that sounded nothing like her.

Catching her plan Bella giggled a high pitched chime like noise.

Those aboard the boat turned with their cameras and started filming the trio.

"Hello, who are you, the world wants to know," one of the reporters shouted out.

"One day soon we shall tell you until then we must ask you to leave our territory," Will shouted his voice deep and commanding.

"Why are you wearing masks," another reporter yelled.

"Because we enjoy our privacy now leave this is your final warning," Will said raising his trident and leveling it at the boat.

"What do you have to say about the rumor of mermaids," a tabloid journalist asked a microphone held up in the air towards them.

Will was about to use his earth powers to push the metal in the boat towards shore, when another small but rather fancy boat cruised into view, slowing as it passed the yacht.

"New comers please leave you are not welcome here," Will announced to the two dark haired figures in the boat. Oddly they were wearing bandanas over the bottom of their faces.

"Lauri Kapuano Riiakuu Niariulia," the young man at the helm said.

You could tell from the yacht that the four figures on the wall were shocked by the way their bodies stiffened.

"Where do you hail from," Cleo asked keeping her voice higher than normal.

"Bermuda my mate and I came to claim sanctuary," the black haired man proclaimed, "I'm first gen she's third."

Cleo looked to the others for affirmation and upon seeing it turned towards that and made a pulling motion. She had the rim of the gate, hollow just for this purpose. Once open the boat with the two figures cruised through with no problem, a pair of red rubies like Kemala's glowing from a ring on each of their left hands.

Seeing an opportunity Nate threw his boat in gear and headed for the open gate.

As soon as his boat passed the 500 meter boundary line his boat froze in the water his engine stalled.

"How the fuck, did they past," Nate shouted at the figure with the spear. When the gate had closed the three women had dived off the other side and disappeared leaving the man.

"Let's just say it's an exclusive club if you don't have this ID you aren't getting in," Will shouted pointing to his bracelet. At the time he didn't realize his mistake.

With a wave he pushed the yacht back past the boundary line so it's engine would start and dove over the edge of the wall towards the island.

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So you needed a type of jewel to get in. Now all he had to do was figure out which kind.

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The 11 Mers and 1 human sat on the logs around the smoldering early morning fire.

Leon and Alison as it were had been changed together. They had been best friends since kindergarten and one day at the beach near their home on Bermuda, the tides went to the lowest point they would all year.

Venturing out into the tide pools the two of them had fallen down a hole which ended in a cave with a pool. The only way out had been to swim 50 meters out a tunnel in the glowing red pool. That had been at noon on the summer solstice.

They were with Leon's family when the two got sprayed in the back yard with sprinklers. A hysterical maid began screaming 'voodoo' and 'Demons of the sea you have eaten the children".

Sadly, both of their parents had been and still were overly religious Christians. After being taken to every priest on the island, the children became tired of being treated like disease ridden monsters and ran away together.

It hadn't been until Ali's 18 birthday that they had returned to the island after years of living in the sea. Upon arriving they learned that Ali's father had killed himself a year to the day after she had disappeared. Broken hearted Ali went to the bank and after proving who she was with a password her father had given her years ago they had released to her a sizable inheritance.

With some of the money the two had boat they had arrived in and married each other in a quick justice of the peace ceremony. Other than being set for life budget wise the only thing she had received was a thick family bible which could only be unlocked by the Kemala in Ali's ring. Her entire family on her mother's side had been Mer for the last 3 generations. The only reason she hadn't been one from birth was because her mother had given up her powers to be normal.

Both of them had retrieved a red Kemala from the pool they were changed in and each of their stones had been set into their wedding bands.

"That's such a sad story," Cleo said drying her tears, which oddly enough was the one form of water that didn't transform her.

"It's alright, we have each other and that's all that matters," Ali smiled as he husband kissed her head.

"I notice you don't hide your eyes," Rikki pointed out. Now that her eyes were permanently golden in both forms she had to wear annoying blue contacts whenever she went to the mainland.

"Usually I wear contacts but when I'm at sea and there is no one around I don't see the point," Leon said casting his orange, brown and white striped eyes to the sand.

"Don't be embarrassed I think their great," Penny insisted with a smile.

"Mine are no better than his and yet he thinks he's a freak," Ali rolled her eyes before pulling out a contact case and proceeding to remove her brown contacts. When she looked up her eyes were bright neon yellow with a thick black stripe that blended with the pupil.

"If your eyes are that cool I wonder what your tail looks like," Bella eyed them eagerly.

Before Ali could answer her husband threw her over his shoulder and jumped feet first into the creek. Flashing into water for a second they reappeared their tails gleaming the light of the noon sun.

"That's awesome, Leon yours looks like, like a lion fish and Alison yours is definitely an ornate butterfly fish," Lewis identified immediately.

Leon's tail was the striped and spotted red, orange and white of the lion fish. Matching spines ran along each of his outer forearms.

Ali's tail was a silver white with bright yellow and orange pinstripes. Instead of forking or billowing like most tails Mer tails, her end fin was rounded and edge with a thick black stripe.

"Absolutely cool," Will said his fascination almost as great as Lewis' who had pulled out a magnifying glass and would have examined them if Cleo had pulled him back with a scowl.

With Rikki's help the couple were dry and back on the longs in less than a minute.

"So what kind of powers do you guys have," Lewis decided to substitute his examination with questions. Just to be polite of course not because his fiancée had his arm in a death grip.

"Well, as far as I can tell I'm amazingly strong, the most I've lifted is 5,000 pounds but that a bit of a strain. And I also noticed when we go on land that I can…well I can dazzle people, it like I just look into their eyes without my contacts and wham they faint, drool or start laughing goofily," Allison said much the obvious chagrin of her husband.

"It's not all that fun to have guys drooling over your Mate if you know what I mean," Leon scowled before chuckling, "Anyway, I found that if I scratch someone with my spines or nails weird things happen to them. Like one time this guy groped Ali and when I grabbed his arm and my nail caught him he start doing this hilarious dance and feeling himself up, all the while singing 'I'm sexy and I know it' it was great."

"That's cool venomous spines though, hmmm. That does sound like a lion fish. I wonder why you guys have such identifiably fish like characteristics," Ash mused.

"It might be because both of those fish happened to be in the pool with us when we changed," Leon shrugged.

"Ah well that's enough for now how about we set up a cottage for you guys," Zane said rubbing his hands together and nodding towards Cleo and Bella who smiled and rolled their eyes, "While you guys do that, I'll go grill up some of those tunas Ash and Lewis caught."

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WOW okay this chapter got a bit carried away, oh well please review and mermaid spots are still open.


	9. The Tale of Sacrifice

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Chapter 9

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For the last two weeks news crews from around the world patrolled the edge of the island hoping for a glimpse of whatever it was that was inhabiting the island.

According to the online poll Nate Cunningham had created:

Believe it's mermaids: 63 percent

Believe it's a club of rich weirdoes: 20 percent

Believe it's a new breed of humans: 10 percent

Believe it's an alien invasion: 7 percent

"You know according to that vision the tentacle in the pool gave us we might actually be Aliens," Lewis reasoned as the group chatted at their extra-large booth at the café.

"True I guess that means only seventy percent of people know the truth then," Emma rolled her eyes at the absurdity.

"No they guess the truth that's a whole lot different," Rose giggled along with the others at Emma's irritation. She was way too easy to wind up.

"Thanks to Zane we're actually all of the above," Will laughed.

"Doesn't really matter either way does it," Penny spoke up as she tried to inch away from the snuggling, kissing tangle that was Bella and Will. Rikki and Zane were working leaving five people to each side of the enormous party sized booth.

"How doesn't it matter," Cleo asked, as she slid the laptop back to the impatient Lewis.

"As soon as all the Mer finish arriving and we finish building, we are going to reintroduce Mers and Atlantis back into the modern world. Personally I don't see how a few people's opinion of what is and what isn't, is going to matter."

"I suppose your right," Ash said somberly making the others look at him, he was a rather quiet person with people who weren't Emma and it shocked them to hear him speak, "I mean in a few short months eight of us are going to be introduced as the Kings and Queens of Atlantis and the oceans in general. A website it a miniscule thing to worry about compared to that."

"You're right. In a few weeks we go from being twenty year olds that work at a juice café and become internationally recognized political figures," Emma agreed leaning into her fiancé.

"It's major. What…what if the world doesn't accept Mers. What if they think it's an elaborate hoax or they shun us as demons," Leon said, dejectedly remembering his own childhood.

"Well we'll deal with that when it happens. If it does we'll shun them back, otherwise we'll just enjoy the free stuff they're likely to give us as celebrities," Bella finished with a grin.

As she said that the new local celebrity walked through the beaded door off the outside deck.

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Nate had spent the last two weeks searching the internet for kinds of red, blue, pink and green gems that glowed. So far he had found nothing that matched his description. None of the phosphorescent stones he had looked at had matched the gems worn by those he had seen over the last few months near the island.

From different surveillances, Nate had noted that different people took turns patrolling the island.

Those with the blue glowing stones wore them on bracelets. There were seven of them patrolling but he'd seen an eighth on a boat. The pink haired girl wore a glowing pink stone on a necklace and always had a double ended spear. A dark-skinned Asian patroller wore a glowing green stone, and the couple he had seen when the wall first showed up, each wore a glowing red stone set in a ring on their ring finger.

Frustrated at having no luck or further leads on the stones he had taken a break from the news crews and decided to get himself a juice.

"Hey Zane can I get an apple pomegranate with an energy boost," Nate asked before stopping and staring at the bracelet on Zane's wrist as he was writing down his order, "Zane where did you get that bracelet? Only the people at Mako wear them," Nate asked his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"What, oh uh, you know that rumor about how it's a club for rich people," Zane started lying, "Well sorry to tell you this but I'm rich and Rikki and I qualify."

"Have you ever patrolled the wall," Nate asked, something here wasn't adding up, he just didn't know what.

"Nah, only the members who volunteer for security detail do that, they live on the island full time. Other than that the rest of us just visit when we wanna relax on a private tropical island," Zane lied smoothly, "And before you ask, no you can't join they hate you as it is, and they have to approach you first anyway."

"I wasn't going to ask that," Nate lied back. Dammit, he had really wanted to see what the hell was going on with that island. Still the 'club' thing didn't explain the mermaids or how those contestants from before had turned up on a beach ten miles away.

"Thanks," Nate said as his drink was finished and handed to him, "See ya around mate."

Thinking deeply, Nate passed the group's table, set on heading back to the News crews, completely oblivious that his 'prey' were mere inches from him.

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That Saturday the twelve of them were joined by another, rather quiet, sixteen year old boy.

After coaxing and a promise of sanctuary, the boy had told his story in halted, accent-laden English.

From what they could understand his name was Sadaka, it meant Sacrifice in Swahili. His tribe had lived on a river which was always full, and until he had his 14th birthday he had been a normal boy.

That is when the drought came.

A whole year passed without improvement and his people were starving and the crops were dying. His uncle, the shaman, suggested that they make sacrifices to the goddess who made the river flow.

Her name was Uhamiri and it had been rumored that the tribe's chief had promised to marry her and be faithful, if she made him chief and his village healthy. However he took another as his wife and the goddess, enraged, blocked the river causing the village to crumble.

The first to starve and die had been the lying chief and his scheming young wife.

Upon his fifteenth birthday, the village agreed to a sacrifice to assuage the angered goddess, and he had been chosen. His uncle had said that he had magic in his blood as a shaman's nephew and because his birth had killed his mother, that he would appease the goddess' wrath better than any other boy.

And so his name had been changed from Kedo to Sadaka in preparation of his sixteenth birthday and his death.

Full of pride, the boy announced that he had not even blinked when his family and friends bound him in rope the night of his birthday and covered him in goat's blood. He smiled weakly when he told, the now crying (the girls) audience, how he hadn't struggled when his father and brothers carried him to the river's edge, chanting prayers of forgiveness as they went, and tossed him into the river.

He told them how he remembered resurfacing and seeing their horrified faces, before he turned his head and saw the jaws of a gigantic bull shark swallow him whole. He had somehow remained alive in the beast's stomach for many days and nights until the torment ended and a glowing surrounded and filled him.

When he came to, he was in a cave, lying naked in front of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She said she was the river's guardian, a Mami Wata, and his Aunt.

Her human half-sister had died giving birth to him and it had been out of love for her sister that she had saved his pitiful live. The Mami Wata explained this to him and sent him on his way.

When he left the cave and began trekking back to his village to share the good news, he had stopped along the river to drink some of the barely trickling water.

The small amount of liquid had caused him to change and revealed to him exactly how his Aunt had saved him. She had used the magic in his blood to merge his body with the shark spirit that had eaten him.

Once he had dried off, he resumed his long trek back to his village. When he arrived, instead of rejoicing as he expected, they shrieked and cursed. Screaming demon and spirit and ordered him to leave.

Heartbroken, he had wandered for many days through the lifeless desert, until he had collapsed to the ground with dehydration, and began shouting with his nearly gone voice to the skies. He cried for rain for his people, so that at least his sacrifice would not be in vain.

And it had.

Each time he stretched his hands to the heavens and sang of rain it did.

After rain fell for nearly a straight week, the region began to return to its prior prosperity. From that day onward a day was celebrated to celebrate the sacrifice of the boy name Kedo.

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Distraught over the loss of his family Sadaka had swum down the river to the sea and had remained there ever since.

Tears that would not fall, glistened in the silver slit iris' of his shark like eyes as he finished his story.

The group sat in silence around the fire fully taking in the boy in front of them.

Around his neck was a clear diamond the size of a robin's egg that hung from a choker. It was perfectly faceted and on either side of the diamond were long thin crocodile teeth.

He kept a foot long knife that he had made from the jaw of a shark he had killed and eaten during his wanderings. It was curved and the edge was lined with two inch-long serrated teeth that quite obviously came from a great white.

"Kedo—"

"Sadaka, ma nom is Sadaka. I don eva wanna fo'get how eet is dat I came ta be dis way," Sadaka clarified.

"Alright then Sadaka," Rikki smiled gently, her heart breaking along with the others for the pain this young man went through, "It's getting late how about we get Cleo and Bella to set you up a cottage."

Sadaka stared at her like she was weird.

"I prefer to sleep close to the water," Sadaka finally said.

"That's fine just point to where you want your house and we'll make it for you," Cleo said with a smile.

The three of them reached the beach and Sadaka used his foot to etch the perimeter of his house which was a circle into the sand.

"Ya say dat ya can harden da wata," Sadaka asked Bella.

"Yes, Cleo and I will shape and harden your house," Bella answered with a smile, happy that the poor boy would finally have a place to live.

Before she could continue Sadaka moved in a fluid twist, the incoming tide jumped with his motion and flew into a perfect hollow cylinder.

"If ya would harden eet please," Sadaka grinned at the older girls, as if he had just pulled off an amazing prank. And he had.

"You can control water too," Cleo exclaimed happily. When Charlotte had the power it had felt wrong, but for some reason it seemed Sadaka was meant to have it.

"Yah, I have played many pranks on da sailors when dey pass me en da wata," Sadaka laughed.

Bella set the water and Sadaka set up the Hammock Rikki had gone to get him before night fall. With a smile and a good night the girls returned to their cottage, leaving a vastly happier young man behind them.


	10. The Wedding

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Chapter 10

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When the next Mer, 21 year old Gloriana Ericson, arrived she had been unable to enter the gates.

This was because at the time she arrived, the wedding of Lewis and Cleo McCartney had just started its reception.

Size wise, it was rather on the small side with only about 50 people, consisting of Cleo and Lewis respective family members as well as their thirteen closest friends.

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What happened next wasn't Gloriana's fault.

She would have been perfectly content to wait at the gate if a certain young man with the last name Cunningham hadn't spotted her outside the gate and attempted to chase her down.

Using the egg sized obsidian moon stone around her neck as a guide, Gloria as she liked to be called, raced to the mainland in search of those who had offered sanctuary.

The reception hall, luckily, was only a half mile from shore.

Lucky, because this mermaid, with hair that was a deep midnight blue, hadn't left the water more than twice in the time since she had first transformed. Thus her land legs were understandably out of practice.

Once she was positive she had escaped that jerk on the speed boat, she pulled herself up into a hidden portion of the beach that was surrounded with mangroves.

After a quick check to make sure no one could see her, she waved her half closed fist over her midnight and light blue tail and the water turned to sand.

With legs once again Gloria unsteadily tripped up the beach to the road, wearing only a blue seashell bra and a skirt made of a ratty white piece of fabric she had found the last time she had changed.

Pedestrians passing her on the sidewalk stopped and starred at the jelly legged woman as she stared into the stone on her necklace as if it were a compass. She didn't seem to notice their eyes following her.

A crowd was growing in the area to watch the blue haired girl with the odd clothes and the rumored 'magic' stone the news had been talking about.

Whispers of mermaid were passed around the now heavily superstitious townspeople.

Gloria could tell she was nearly at her destination when all of a sudden sprinkler turned on ten feet in front of her. After so long in the sea she had become a bit instinctive and even though the water didn't touch her she hissed and stumbled back.

The crowd started whispering louder.

Catching her balance Gloria grumbled about sprinklers and walked around the spray of water making sure not to let it touch her.

Subsequently it seemed the building whose sprinklers had so offended the woman was where she wanted to go.

A single brave person separated from the crowd and followed her into the party reception hall.

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Cleo McCartney was giddily oblivious to the commotion outside or the fact that anyone had entered the building. The reason for her obliviousness was because at the moment she was blissfully dancing with her equally oblivious new husband, Lewis McCartney.

It was a rather rude awakening when a blue haired girl wobbled onto the dance floor and right up to them.

"Um are you the people who sent the sanctuary call," the blue haired girl asked.

Understanding came over their face as they looked the girl up in down.

Rose and Bella seemed to magically appear next to the couple and put their hands gently on the new arrivals shoulders.

"Hello sweetheart, if will you follow us, then we'll get you cleaned up and into some less conspicuous clothes. Come alon-"

"Hey," a young man who looked to be in his early twenties ran up to them, "You there." The man seemed to be indicating the blue haired girl.

"I'm sorry sir, this is a private event you'll have to leave," Emma said joining the group and gently attempting to steer him towards the door.

"I need to talk to this girl," he said indignantly.

"I'm sure you do, but that will have to wait for another day," Will said as he joined the group to tell them to hurry as the other guest had started to notice.

Leaving Cleo and Lewis to enjoy themselves, Ash and Will steered the man towards the side door of the building as they were followed by the others and the new girl.

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Halfway down the hall, the girls were about to separate from their male counterparts when Rose spoke up.

"Awwwwww, guys they belong together," Rose blurted dreamily, her spear appearing in hand out of thin air

"ROSE!" they all shouted at her, while the young human stared shocked at the now pink haired girl holding a double-ended spear. As long as she had that spear her true self would start to show in all its pinkness.

Before it could get more out of hand the five of them quickly entered Cleo dressing room, locking the door after Bella left to retrieve Zane. Rikki was going to keep an eye on things at the reception and help explain what was going on to the happy couple.

The young man sitting in the corner of the room, was staring wide eyed at the group of people standing in a huddle as they argued. Mostly he was staring at the glowing stones each of them wore that he had been warned about by the News.

"Please don't eat me," Jayden blurted, causing the whispering group to turn at stare at him.

"EAT you? Why would we EAT you," Emma asked, a look of amused disgust on her face.

"I-if you're not going to eat me, what do mermaids do with their prey," Jayden asked nervously, 'please don't drown me.'

Knock knock.

A man's voice came through the door and they let him in, locking the door behind him.

"Bella told me you have a human in here," Jayden heard the man whisper.

"Zane, he's a destined I can feel it," Rose pouted as she twirled the spear still in hand.

"Really that's a first," Zane said looking at the trembling man. Separating from the group Zane crouched down next to the man, who flinched and pressed himself against the wall.

"Hey there mate, no worries, we aren't gonna hurt you," Zane comforted, "My name is Zane I'm a human like you."

"Then why do you hang with th-them?" Jayden stuttered suspiciously.

"Because my wife is one," Zane chuckled, "They aren't bad they just like their privacy. Don't worry, I won't let them do anything to you."

"Why would we DO anything to him," Emma asked confused.

"Yeah, from what Rose said you're going to be one of us," Will said, smiling congenially at the confused boy.

"What, how am I going to BE one of you," Jayden asked nonplussed, were they like vampires and going to bite him.

"Um, Hi my name is Rose and I sort of have this…ability…to tell things like…well like a lover's destiny. You see I'm an Aphrodite's Mer, it's rare."

"Alright Rose that's enough preening for you. We get it you think you're hot stuff," Emma rolled her eyes.

"Anyway I saw that you and Gloria are going to be Mates and that you have Mer in you. Which now that I think about it, was probably what made you chase her down," Rose continued.

"I have what in me and who is Gloria," Jayden asked confused.

"Mer, it is the Atlantean gene that makes it possible for someone who is born human to become a Mermaid or Merman," Ash explained.

"All of us have it, well except Zane here, he's the odd man out," Will joked.

"H-how many of you are there," Jayden asked calming down slightly.

"Not sure how many there are in the world, but as of right now you and Gloria make 14 for the Mako Tribe," Will answered after a moment of thought.

"What if I don't want to be a…a whatever I am," Jayden asked.

"Then you miss out on your destiny and your soul will be unfulfilled," Rose said sadly, "Plus neither you nor your soul mate will be able to find happiness."

"Soul mate? Who's my soul mate," Jayden asked searching the group of beautiful woman hopefully.

His eyes landed on the blue hair beauty. He hoped it was her, something about those midnight blue eyes called to him.

"Gloria is," Rose said smiling pointing the blue haired angel.

"I'll do it," Jayden said suddenly, not taking his eyes off the girl.

"Do what?" a few of them asked.

"I'll become a Mer," Jaden answered grinning at Gloria smiled unsure back.

"OWW what was tha-"

"Ouch, geez why'd ya go and do-"

Jayden and Gloria stopped and instead of frowning, Gloria giggled and threw herself at the now standing Jayden kissing as her arms wrapped around his all too willing neck.

Both people completely forgetting the small cut they had received from the pink end of Rose's spear.

"And that ladies and gentleman is how love spells work," Rose said happily.

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After quickly being filled in, Cleo and Lewis left on their honeymoon to the Florida keys, and the group found themselves around campfire at Mako listening to Gloria's story.

Jayden sat impatiently in the Moon pool, with Emma waiting dry on the back to keep him company while he waited for the Full moon to rise and change him.

"Are you sure you want this as your tail?" Emma asked as she handed him the tank with his pet flashlight fish.

According to Leon and Ali the fish their tails were modeled after had been in the pool with them. Jayden jumped at the chance to choose his own tail.

"Definitely , who wouldn't want to be glow in the dark?" Jayden as he picked the fish out of its tank and place it in the water as it started to bubble.

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Gloria continued her story, as Bella created a pavilion with Sadaka to shield them from the Full Moon.

Gloriana had grown up in the Michigan, right along Lake Huron in the States. Her now ex-boyfriend Tyler had taken her on a weekend getaway to the northwest end of Lake Huron.

After a short hike he had taken her into a cave to spend the night.

At first it had been great.

They were making hot dogs and s'mores over the little fire he had started, then they cuddled a little.

However, it went downhill fast when he had started pressuring her for more than she was willing to give.

When she had refused, he had argued with her, calling her a frigid bitch and pushed her into the pool at the back of the cave. When she had surface he was gone and the water had started bubbling.

She had passed out and upon waking up found that she had a beautiful blue tail. The top of each scale was a light-watery blue that gradated to navy at the bottom of the scale.

Naturally of course, she had freaked out and in an attempt to escape the nightmare, swam deeper and deeper into the freezing lake.

Her first three days as a mermaid were spent at the bottom of the lake. She stayed there, knowing that if she returned home, she would be experimented on. With that realization she decided never to go back.

Using the different canals and rivers, she had swum to the gulf of Mexico and through the Panama Canal. After that she had spent the last few years living alone on a small uninhabited island in the Hawaiian chain. She had used her power of transmutation to make anything and everything she needed.

Right as she finished her story, a head with a black mop of slicked back wet hair popped out of the tunnel entrance next to the pavilion.

"Guess what," Jayden said with a wide grin.

"Let me guess, you turned into a mythical creature known as a Mer," Will asked straight face, causing everyone including Emma who had just popped up behind Jayden to laugh.

"Nice tail mate," Leon said, "I'm glad to see my theory holds true."

True enough Jayden's tail was a 4 foot version of his pet flashlight fish. Black with a line of blue glowing spots running down either side.

The group swapped stories late into the night in celebration of their two new arrivals.

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	11. The Evangelists

Please review

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Chapter 11 Practice, Patrolling and Preparations

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After a week the newly married McCartney's returned to Mako.

Working together with their powers in the dead of night, when no one could see past the fog Rikki and Cleo whipped up, the crew designed and built structures to make Atlantis come to life.

Near the top of the dormant volcano Sadaka and Cleo had shaped an enormous Statue of a beautiful mermaid with a trident sitting on a cliff. Its tail wrapped around the volcano while its left arm looked to be supporting the reclining figure. Her right hand held a tilted trident. The peaceful face's eyes seemed to be watching the sea towards the mainland.

Bella had been training Jayden with his powers and the two worked in tandem to harden the large amount of water. Due to the fact that Jayden was still living with his parents while he attended college he had to returned home every night and stay on the mainland most of the day.

Rikki had melted and evaporated Bella's temporary pavilion so that Will could use his Geokinesis to raise white marble Grecian columns into place and then balance the ornate roof he had created on top. Bella had finished the statue and joined them in time to set the columns in place with hardened water. They now had a gleaming white permanent pavilion.

For future human visitors Sadaka and Jayden hed created a large crystal like canoe that could hold ten people comfortably.

Gloria had turned a number of palm trees into rust proof platinum posts that held blue moon stones for light.

"Alright Rose all you need to do is concentrate on the molecular composition. Estimate its atomic weight and then imagine it being the atomic weight of what you want," Gloriana instructed Rose, as she floated her own transmuted metal replica of a palm tree to add to the ever growing pile of metal tree/lamp post.

Instead of chopping the palms down to clear the area for cottages and buildings Gloria had changed the trees to metal and used to powers to move them and hollow a space to place the moonstone. There would be one platinum tree lamp post in front of every house.

Rose had only partially changed one.

"It's just so hard," Rose complained as her head throbbed from the concentration.

"You are concentrating more on the what it is now, than on what it will be. Imagine it is made of platinum."

Taking a deep breath Rose closed her eyes and raised her hand at the tree in front of her.

"Very good," Gloria praised causing Rose to open he eyes and squeal happily when she saw the gleaming platinum tree.

Passing behind Rose, Alison was carrying an enormous white pacific clam shell the size of a minivan over her head.

Jumping up and down Rose's fist pumped the air.

"I did it, I really did it," Rose shouted happily.

Profanity escaped Alison's lips, as the 300 pound shell over her head turned Platinum and gained another 800 pounds.

"Oops," Rose shouted, "Did I do that."

"Yes, yes Urkel you did," Alison grumbled as she readjusted the shell and continued walking. The shell was for the base of a fountain Emma wanted placed at the top of the waterfall pool near the Mermaid statue. It was three tiers high and sprayed water nearly 15 feet in the air only to catch in again as it flowed over the edge of the fountain and off the cliff in the waterfall.

"Gloriana what's an Urkel," Rose asked a hysterically laughing Gloria. Gloria forgot that Rose hadn't grown up with the same shows.

"Hahahaha, it's from an old American show," Gloria explained laughing, "It's this kid that was a klutz and every time he did something wrong he'd say 'Did I do that'."

"Oh, I didn't mean to though," Rose said dejectedly.

"Sweetie it's ok, she wasn't mad at you," Gloria reassured her, "Now how about we finish these posts."

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Down in the tunnels Lewis was using wet set cement to glue street signs at the different junctions of the tunnels.

Cleo and Jayden were occupied with making a miniature of the giant gate over the entrance to the Cavern. The original eight had decided to make it their private meeting room and treasury. With magic Lewis had set it so that to gain entry you had to be wearing a medallion.

Inside the chamber Will shaped a large round marble table, while Ash used water to carve a lounging pool in the floor. He could move the water but unlike Cleo or Sadaka he could float it or shape it. He had the power of the tides and while it was powerful it was better for making new rivers, lakes and tsunami's than for art or precise things.

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Rikki had found she had a rather unique power. She had found that with her new power she could in fact create a very small sun like ball of energy inside a medium. She also found that said ball of energy could then be used very much like a battery.

This is why at the moment, an hour after others had finished laying out the wireless Kemala receivers, she was standing on the shoulder of the enormous mermaid statue.

When Cleo had first made it she had created a large boulder substitute, to hang around the statues neck as a pretend Kemala. It had originally been intended as mere decoration, but upon discovering this ability Rikki had told the other exactly what the plan was.

The eternally scientific Lewis had experimented with Rikki's powers and with the help of magic he connected smaller rocks into the larger one she was about to power so that essentially they were creating a wireless electricity network.

No wires. No problem.

Each household they built had a small central Sunstone that connected with the main one and drew power for the electrical appliances that Zane had outfitted each house with.

All the modern amenities without the enormous electric bill, that comes with powering a small city.

Lewis concluded from his experiment that the bigger the stone the longer it lasted. 1 gram of sunstone stayed powered for a day, 2 grams stay powered for two days. According to Lewis the .46 ton boulder they had used would give the city power for 1240 years.

Concentrating Rikki lifted both her hands towards the boulder.

After twenty minute the stone finished converting to energy and an exhausted Rikki collapsed onto the statues shoulder. Fifteen feet away the ½ ton boulder had turned to crystal during the process and held within it a brightly shining light.

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During the last 2 months since the wall had shown up out of nowhere, nearly twenty news crews had anchored themselves around the island. Each day they would record and post updates on the mysterious construction that appeared to be taking place, as well as the growing number of people that took turns walking along the wall. The patrollers had taken to carrying shields with them because a couple of the local boys had attempted to tranquilize them to force them off the wall.

If one of the darts came near them or hit their shield they would hiss menacingly and threaten them with their tridents.

Several people had attempted to climb the gate and wall but were quickly knocked off by the usually laughing guards. Apparently it was a source of entertainment for them.

This morning as the reporters woke up and drank their morning coffee, the rest passengers of the multitude of boats congregated at the part of their boats that face the island.

A brilliant light shone from a giant pendant around an enormous mermaid statue that curled half way around the volcano with its tail and held a trident in its outstretched hand.

The camera crew immediately began to film the new occurrence right when an unfamiliar patroller appeared at the top of the wall with a sharks tooth spear in hand.

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Since his arrival Sadaka had been given reprieve from guard duty so that he could help Bella build the smaller less conspicuous additions to their settlement during the day. However now that most of it was done and Cleo had returned, Sadaka had been asked to join the wall patrol.

Glad to have something more to do, Sadaka agreed, placed his half mask on and upon reaching the wall pulled the water off his body and regain his legs. Curious to see the boats and news crews that the others had spoken of Sadaka took a breath under the half mask and climbed to top of the ladder, his spear in hand.

His gleaming shark bone knife was lying in open view of the camera happy reporters. The glow of his diamond Kemala was also easily viewed set amongst the crocodile tooth choker. The only thing he wore was a tribal style loin wrap like the king he had worn all his youth and the strings of bone and teeth around his arms, wrist, biceps, ankles and waist as well as the bright white decorative band he wore around his short trimmed hair. His abdomen was marred with the scraped teeth marks of the bull shark that had swallowed him.

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Other than the news boats, there were 3 different evangelist groups that constantly yelled that the evil sea demons that defied the Lord would die a painful death.

Today was no different, in fact upon seeing 'fresh meat' the evangelists shouted even more aggressively.

"Demon from hell" "Paegan monster" "You shall die a painful death"

Usually the other patrollers just ignored them and continued walking, this one however turned towards them and started laughing in a deep baritone.

The evangelist stopped yelling and opening stared. Normally the patrollers covered their mouths but the few who had only covered the upper half like this one, all had had normal teeth. This one didn't, in place of money teeth, incisors and molars this one had two rows of triangular serrated sharks teeth.

Some of the women on the evangelist's boat fainted from shock.

"You say dat I will die a painful death, but wat ya don know eez dat I already deed," the African guard laughed, "I stole these teeth right out of da sharks mouth dat keeled me." Technically it was true, the teeth did belong to the shark that he had merged with, and he would have died if his Aunt hadn't stepped in.

Sadaka continued along the wall laughing at the shocked faces he had left behind him.

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When the less frightening brunette guard, replaced the shark mouthed one the reporters became brave enough to ask questions.

"What is that bright light on the statue?"

"What exactly are you building here?"

"Why won't you let anyone in?"

"Is the statue a way of telling us your guarding mermaids?"

The brunette ignored them and continued on down the wall past the evangelist boats.

"Freak" "Monster" "Shark mouthed demon"

At the last comment Cleo turned as glared at them.

"What did you say to me," Cleo demanded keeping her voice higher than normal.

"Shark mouthed demon," one asked confused.

"Did you say that to the black boy? Did you say that to Sadaka?" Cleo growled angrily at the evangelist. When they didn't answer she shouted at them.

"I swear to the Moon, that if you hurt his feeling I will send your boat to the bottom of the sea and have you eaten by sharks yourselves and see how you like it," Cleo threatened indignantly, before jumping over the back of the wall to go see if Sadaka was okay.

Seeing an opportunity the ever troublesome Nate Cunningham pushed his boat to the wall, threw his grappling hook over the edge and with a quick pull began scaling the wall.

Ash wearing his mask was already swimming to the wall, trident in hand to take over Cleo's guard duty as he hastily promised the upset girl as she rushed by.

Nate reached the top, pulled out his camera and began filming the island as well as the V shaped wake that speeding towards the wall. Looking around for a way to open the gate he was surprised to find that there wasn't any sort of lever or mechanism. Pointing his camera back at the ripple that had stopped at the ladder against the way, he almost fell off the wall when he saw that it had a long silver fish tail behind it.

The masked figure pulled itself up onto the platform next to the ladder and began drying himself off with one of the towels stacked there. It seemed completely oblivious to Nate and his still recording camera.

Nate almost fell again with shock when the figure's tail separated into legs and the now human looking creature stood up. Halfway up the ladder the thing saw him and hissed angrily. Jumping up the last few rungs it ran with ease down the steps to the flat portion of the wall where Nate stood his camera in hand.

Looking below him he noticed that his boat had floated back about ten feet and the rope he had used to climb the wall was dangling into the water. He gulped as he recognized the shape of at least four sharks.

"Human you are not welcome here," Ash said his falsely gravelly voice conveying his anger quite well. The silver eyes behind the mask widened when they saw the still filming camera in his hand. Raising his trident he was debating on whether or not to actually stab this irksome idiot that had been a thorn in all his friends side for as long as he could remember.

"Hand the camera over," Ash ordered his voice dangerous.

"How about you just let me climb down to my boat," Nate negotiated.

"This is not up for discussion, give me the camera or you'll find this trident little too close for comfort," Ash threatened nearly angry enough to actually do it.

"Or maybe I'll throw this camera to my friend Miriam on the boat and your ability to become human will be exposed," Nate argued hoping to get away from this.

"You want to use the video to become even more famous don't you," Ash asked his voice calm and scheming.

Nate's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the man with the trident.

"Well what good will that video be if I kill you and feed your maimed body to the sharks," Ash asked with a calm voice.

Nate seemed to consider this for a moment.

"What if I just jump down to the boat," Nate asked slowly his eyes contemplative.

"That's almost funny, even if you actually jump past those sharks, you'd break both of your legs and probably die," Ash laughed.

He heard a motor rev and the wall shook slightly as a large object collided with it.

"Nate jump," Miriam shouted. She had turned the boat sideways so that instead of the aft being 30 feet below that he had originally been aiming at he had an 8 foot drop onto the roof of the second story.

Flashing a grin as the guard Nate threw himself onto the roof and Miriam threw the boat in gear causing them to speed into the distance.

Hissing and snarling, Ash contemplated sinking their ship but decided that, that would expose their powers even more than the tape.

A fish becoming a human was one thing, it didn't scream powerful enemy. A fish that becomes a human and that can destroy an entire region with a wave of its hand is a whole other.

Snarling at the reporters he finished the patrol duty and headed back to the Island after filling in Bella who replaced him on what had happened.

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During patrols Bella tended to get bored and would smile and make eye contact with the boys just long enough for them to make fools of themselves and entertain her. Each time she did this the women would glare at the gorgeously built woman. It just wasn't fair, her upper face and nose were hidden behind a white mask and yet the men still fell over themselves when she walked by with a smile gracing her pink lips. Her perfect gold skin stretched sweetly over her curves, she wasn't bony and yet not an ounce of fat anywhere. The only thing she wore was a pair of white shells over her breast that seemed to defy gravy. (both the shells and the breast ;D. I'm French, get over the fact that I describe bodies in detail). Bella was smiling inwardly at the fact that mermaids were naturally thin and gorgeous, in fact it was an impossibility for a member of the species to be fat and/or ugly.

Her lower half was covered by a knee length piece of fabric that draped past her hips in a rectangle, the rest of the material folded over the metal chain she wore as a belt, covered her privates, then folded up and back over the chain and draped down in a matching rectangle over her butt. Both sides of her body were bare from shoulder to toe except for that shimmering sequence of metal loops that held the barely there loin cloth up.

Married life was everything she had ever wanted and she wouldn't dream of cheating on Will, but that didn't mean that she couldn't entertain herself by making fools out of the tourists.

She posed sexily and winked at a man in his forties, his face went slack as drool dribbled off his chin.

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Will was debating on whether to be amused by his wife's antics or to be jealous of the way the men on the boats watched her every move.

He decided to do the one thing that wouldn't anger his wife that would also put the shoe on the other foot and make the men jealous.

Leaning his shield and trident against the tower he snuck up on his wife, spun her around and pulled her into a body molding kiss.

She responded immediately with her tongue as the leg facing the boats snaked itself around his waist. They separated for air and were greeted by a majority of the boaters wolf whistling.

"She's my wife it's allowed," Will shouted at the booing group of evangelist shutting up their screams of 'Fornication is a Sin', "Yeah that's right married in the name of god." Will flicked them off right as his wife pulled him into another searing kiss.

"Alright you two that's enough of a show for one day," Emma's fake falsetto voice ordered from behind them, "If you want to do that do it in your own house, it's my turn to patrol."

Will picked Bella up bridal style and jumped feet first off the Wall, disappearing from the boaters view.

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Zane Bennett loved the Café.

Zane Bennett was also a business man.

Zane Bennett was a surprisingly good husband.

So it is fair to say that Zane Bennett was enjoying himself as he read the latest profit report on the last 24 Rikki's that had been opened since he had received his inheritance.

They seemed to have become the favorite restaurant for all the locals. Local's was a circumspective, seeing as the chain was now in every major city in Australia.

Zane Bennett had also learned thanks to married life that the results were not because of him but because of the lovely woman who sat on his lap as he read said report.

"They've almost paid for themselves," Zane said, kissing his wife on the cheek.

"I told you that making them full restaurants and not just snack bars was a good idea," Rikki smirked pecking his lips.

"Yes, yes you did and you were also the one that made sure all the sea food was caught by our company," Zane smiled kissing her deeper.

Rikki had started a fishing fleet with Don Sertori which was now up to 40 boats all manned by environmentally friendly sea lovers. Every precaution was taken when catching fish so that no other wildlife was harmed such as turtles, coral, shark, dolphins etc.

With Cleo and the other's help the fleets knew exactly where to fish even without sonar. She'd just ask a dolphin or a shark and then call her dad with the location.

The company was raking in money for their premium fresh catches as well as from the saving of the Eco friendly, paper free online ordering process.

Rikki Bennett was a business savant…it also hadn't hurt that she had magic on her side.

Smiling she pushed her husband back in his seat and began unbuttoning his shirt.

The profit report fluttered to the desk revealing the 35 million dollars the company had earned in the last month alone.

Mako Fishing Corporation was monopolizing the market, all the while making sure not to hurt the ocean with bad practices like, overfishing or the harvesting of too young fish.

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Swinging in his hammock Sadaka thought about what, Cleo who had left an hour ago, had said to him.

She had told him not to worry about what others thought of him.

Usually he didn't care about what the others thought. That is until recently.

His birthday had been a week ago and he was now seventeen. Back home he would have gone on his courage quest and returned to the village a man. At the same time he would have started courting the girl his father chose and been married, perhaps even with a child on the way.

These thoughts had not always been painful because until the sanctuary call, Sadaka had thought himself to be alone in the world. Alone in the wild, he had not cared about his appearance.

Turning in his hammock he stared into the mirror beside the door. In his village he had been considered quite handsome and many of the girls had liked him. But now despite the fact his face remained intact he could not see himself as handsome, because every time he opened his mouth he was reminded of the fact that he could not kiss a friend on the cheek, or a certain pink haired girl on the lips or that he would never hold a child his or other wise and smile at it without it screaming in fright.

"Sadaka, you here mate," Lewis' voice came calling from the door of his cottage. In the village his entire extended family had lived in a small 8 by 10 hut. Now he had a living room to watch TV in with a couch, a Kitchen to himself, a Bedroom which he kept his hammock in and a bathroom that he had to share with no one.

All it did was remind him that he would never have a woman to love like the man standing in his doorway did.

"Hey friend," Sadaka replied as he entered his living room to greet Lewis.

"So, Cleo tells me you're feeling a little self-conscious about your teeth and I figured since braces were out that I'd give it a try," Lewis said. It was only now that Sadaka noticed Lewis was holding a thick leather book.

"I hope ya arnt gonna try and knock my teeth out wid dat book," Sadaka grinned revealing his razor sharp teeth.

"Well I could but I thought that magic would be easier," Lewis answered glad that his friend was feeling better.

Sadaka motioned for him to join him on the couch.

"So tell me how ya plan on helping my, what's de word, ah yes, predicament," Sadaka said. Cleo had been helping him with his English. The two Hydrokinetic seemed to have become close friends.

"Well, I found this entry that mentions other with similar problems, who developed this spell that gives you human teeth but also allows you to transform your mouth back and forth whenever you want. You know for scaring people and hunting I guess," Lewis explained.

Sadaka agreed to do the spell, perhaps now Rose would like him.

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Here ya go a bit of island life for you. Please review I still have mermaid spots open.


	12. The Tales of Jungles and Earthquakes

6/5/12 . chapter 9

Name: Zenchō. Gedo senki no Zenchō. his last name is Gedo Senki. means omen of earthsea

Gender: Male

Tail color: Japanese Oarfish tail 5 feet long tail, silver with red dorsal fin thin black zigzag stripes and pots. in sunlight its rainbow iridescent

Origin: Japan. From a family of fishermen Zencho goes fishing when an earthquake hits. giant wave pulls him under and he is saved by a Giant Oarfish. first generation but his great grandfather and all of his ancestors from their were Mer.

Power: Earthquakes, Geokinesis, volcanic eruptions. Can speak with water creatures.

Age: year older than penny. ;D asian love is the cutest

Has a 2 meter long pet japanese giant salamander. fresh water animal. :D hope you like it enough to use it.

I like it and you're right penny needs a boyfriend. Very nice I love names that have actual meaning.

tolazytologin 6/6/12 . chapter 11

Name: Maré da Vida (Mar Ai da Vee-Da)

Gender: Female

Tail color: almost black Coffee brown with red under belly. her hair it also black brown with red highlights. She is very beautiful

Origin: Amazon river Brazil. From a tribe deep in the basin. When she was 13 she was getting water from an aquifer hole she fell in and hit her head. when she woke up she was in a cave miles underground with glowing lights. She decided not to return to her tribe and swam through the aquifer to the river and out to the sea.

Power: She can grant wishes with a potion made with the spit from her 70 foot pet can speak to snakes and birds.

Age:16

Pet WHAT? Well it's either a snake or a bird and I don't know of any seventy foot birds so I'm gonna take a guess and say you meant pet Snake.

gabisamore 6/6/12 . chapter 11

I really REALLY REALLY love this story! It's probably one of the best h2o stories I've ever read! You are an amazing writer! Please update again soon! Here's my merman:

gabisamore (Ella)

Name: Yoshi Hito

Gender: male

Tail: coal Black with red zigzags along the sides an red trim in his tail fin.

Power: Can communicate with the waves and the earth and can cause typhoons, monsoons, hurricanes, and earthquakes.

Origin: Was born and raised in Japan; discovered a cave on the pacific ocean while on vacation with his family. He and his girlfriend transformed, but his girlfriend couldn't take the isolation and the secrecy so she committed suicide. He left Japan forever and has been swimming from one island to the next ever since. He is still grieving for his girlfriend (her name was Kohanna).

Age: 19

Okay Ella, I'm adding yours in before I post the chapter. It's already written but I think I can work it in. :D I might have to tweak the powers because Ash already has them and water and earth is too much for one Mer to have. I'll try my best to make it as good as possible.

Review please

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Chapter 12

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Zenchō and Yoshi. Gedo senki no Zenchō and Yoshi Hito. Those were the names with which the newcomers introduced themselves.

Paddling from the open ocean they had come in a wooden fishing canoe commonly used by the villagers in south Japan. Strapped to the canoe was a large wooden crate and two suitcases, the only thing the rowers were wearing were swim trunks.

Rikki stared at them for a moment trying to figure out if they were tourists or Mer, when one called out to her.

"Hello, My name is Gedo senki no Zenchō and my friends name is Yoshi Hito and we have come all the way from Japan to claim sanctuary," he said in perfect but accented English.

"Prove you are worthy of sanctuary on this island," Rikki called down using her fire power to boil the water in the fountain to call Cleo to the wall just in case they were legitimate.

"Um, I am first generation," Zenchō said.

"And I am as well," Yoshi answered.

"Plenty of people know about that expression," Rikki said rolling her eyes, ugh these were just another pair of tourists. Now that Nate's video was all over the web and people openly spoke about mermaids as real beings not myth many people had attempted to get into the Island Paradise. They had even started trying to imitate the words the others used to get in, all of which had been caught on tape.

Cleo arrived at the platform at the bottom of the wall and awaited her signal.

"I bet they don't know this one. Lauriuuu Napapiuana Lekiuununuu," Zenchō said with a grin. (Does Sea speak count as proof.)

"Welcome home, brothers," Rikki grinned in reply, raising her hand to signal Cleo.

To the reporters it appeared as if her raising her hand had opened the gate.

The purple Kemala around the boys necks glowed as they passed the ward line.

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That night Zenchō and Yoshi sat in the pavilion telling their stories to the patient group.

He had been fishing in a similar boat to the one that they had arrived in when an earthquake shook the area. Being in a boat it hadn't affected him all that much and he returned his attention to fishing.

This had been a mistake because the earthquake had caused a tidal wave to form and before he could even try to escape it, the wave dragged him and his boat under.

He could remember sinking deep into the water as his lungs filled with water.

In the dark of the water he had seen a flash of white and assumed it was a shark coming to finish him. He had closed his eyes to wait for either death by drowning or by shark but neither came. When he opened his eyes a Giant Oarfish with its eel like body had created a circle around him with its body. It told him in his mind, who he was and his ancestry, it said that because he had lived a good and honorable life on land that he would be saved from demise at the hands of the sea.

Before he could react it opened its mouth and swallowed him up to his waist, clamping down painfully with its needle like teeth. In a bright flash of light the pain disappeared, he could breathe underwater and from the waist down the Oar fish's long eel like tail had replaced his legs.

Upon returning to land he swam up the river from the sea to his house. At first his parents had asked where the boat was but when they saw his tail they realized what had happened and told him that his destiny was in the sea like his forefathers before him. They had given him all of his clothes, a pearl handled knife that had belonged to his great grandfather and a map to a cave where his ancestors had stored their riches.

In the year since it had happened he had been living in the cave not even using the riches. On one of his outings he had met a 200 year old magic salamander and become fast friends. The salamander introduced himself to the few in the group that could understand him as Sanshoo. Zenchō said that it meant salamander literally in Japanese.

Leaving its large wooden crate the 6 foot long creature crawled to the edge of the creek and disappeared, the only thing that showed where he was at was the fiery red glow he gave off.

Zenchō said he was the product of a fire demon and a giant pepper fish salamander that lived in the rivers of Japan. If you angered him he would turn into a 5 foot tall humanoid and chase you down.

Apparently, that was how Zenchō had become friends with the half-demon.

The entire time he spoke he only seemed to have eyes for the Indonesian girl sitting across from him.

Penny couldn't stop blushing as she smiled at him.

It was Yoshi's turn to talk.

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Yoshi Hito was a rather outgoing boy, all of his life he had been popular and had the prettiest girls of his choice.

However his roving eyes stopped, when he met the sweetest, and prettiest girl he had ever laid eyes on.

Her name was Kohanna Kawa, it meant little river flower. She had been just as delicate and beautiful as her name suggested.

Two years into their courtship Yoshi had taken her to the sea side to propose.

She had accepted and the newly betrothed wandered down the shore hand in hand as the sun set.

Now this seems like a fairytale ending.

I assure you it isn't.

Once the Sun disappeared beneath the horizon, the couple had decided to go for a moonlight swim. With the Full Moon high overhead the two had swum out past the safety buoys and splashed to their hearts content.

However, much to their surprise, when they tried to return to the shore in the distance, the water wouldn't allow them.

Desperately trying to escape the riptide they had exhausted their strength and sank beneath the now frigid waves.

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The Hito family was quite wealthy and known throughout the community as kind and generous folk. When it came to light that their son and his girlfriend had not returned from their day at the beach, the town immediately mobilized a search party to look for the beloved couple.

What the town and Hito family didn't know was that Yoshi's grandfather, Sakano Hito (Fish People) as well as many before him had been Mer.

The Kawa's (River) also had Mer in them but it was weak as there was only a single generation in their blood and it was many centuries ago. The last Mer in the family had returned her powers to be human again.

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Thinking that they had died the couple held each other as they sat in the dark for hours on end.

Was this Hell?

Slowly but surely as the hours passed their surrounding started to come into view as the blackness gave way to gray.

They were in a cave of sorts, 100 feet overhead an opening revealed the sky as it lightened with the sun. Where they sat was a shallow pool, now more than 4 feet deep.

Astonishingly, where their legs had been was a pair of identical black and red fins. The very tip of the tail was highlighted by rouge coloration that gradated smoothly into the deep, light swallowing ink black of their upper tail.

Panicking slightly, the lovers dove to the bottom of the pool looking for a way out. Feeling with their hands they swam side by side through the pitch black tunnel until it gave way to bright clear water.

Sand, Sun and deafening noise.

After spending the night in the sensory depriving cave, the couple was disoriented by the sensations of the beach.

Pulling themselves on to the sand on a hidden portion of the beach, the two held each other. Kissing away her tears, Yoshi held his sobbing Fiancée, desperately thinking of a way to fix this.

As soon as he thought this, the water on both of their bodies seemed to flow away from them, back into the ocean leaving them dry…and tail free?

Now that they could once again pass as normal humans, the couple agreed never to tell anyone not even their families what had happened, to prevent either of them of being taken away by the government.

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Several months passed and while life went back to normal for the rest of the town, Kohanna was drifting deeper and deeper into a dark depression.

You see when a Mer with weak or bad genes transforms for the first time in generations, there are three possibilities.

One, that he or she would be perfectly fine. Usually this outcome only transpires if they are magically powerful, and the Moon is a solstice moon or one that is equally important.

Two, he or she slowly comes undone and loses all sense of perspective. This kind is often violent at the slightest perceived insult. (Charlotte)

Three, the Mer regardless of gender is drained of its emotions, upon which all Mer power feeds, and left depressed or Apathetic.

Either of the last two is likely to end up dying from the magic drain that occurs when their forms and magic aren't in harmony.

Kohanna was the third. Telling her worried fiancé that it was merely the nerves from keeping their secret and planning a wedding, Kohanna slowly slipped closer and closer to her own demise.

The day before the wedding she was found dead in her bed, having overdosed on prescription sleeping pills.

Devastated from the loss of his fiancé, Yoshi fled to the sea that had started it all, never again to return.

Nearly six months later Yoshi met another young man with the same 'affliction' and learned that it was really a gift. The two became best friends and never looked back. Except at the fire belching, salamander demon when it tried to prank them.

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Two days after Zenchō and Yoshi had settled into separate cottages of their own and Sanshoo into the large pond Ash had made him, another arrived at the gate.

Wearing a red linen breast wrap and a matching ankle length skirt a beautiful young girl with coffee colored hair, adorned with a red hibiscus flower arrived at the gate. She had hitched a ride on one of the tourist's boats. Telling the eager boy at the helm to steer the ship close to the gate she called up to the guard in the watch tower.

"My name is Maré, I seek sanctuary," the bronze skinned beauty yelled up to Will who was watching with interest.

With his Geokinesis Will was capable of opening the gate using the stone rod Cleo had helped him insert inconspicuously in the night.

Rikki had made it to so foggy that night that while being able to hearing the sound of stone clinking the reporters couldn't see past their own hands.

"Prove you are worthy of Sanctuary," Will called down, he was used to this line the tourist asked for sanctuary all the time, but since 99 percent of the time they had been fakes he was rather bored with it.

Below the girl began hissing at no one in particular.

"Just because you can hiss doesn't mean you're worthy," Will called down, then stopped when a massive green and black snake emerged from the water beneath the boat and began coiling around the girl's feet.

The boy driving the boat screamed and jumped off the back to the safety of a nearby news boat.

"Welcome home, sister," Will laughed as he raised his hand and opened the gate.

Manipulating the metal rod along the keel of the crystal boat Sadaka had made, Will pulled it towards the waiting girl. It wouldn't be good to steal a tourist's speedboat.

Stepping into the canoe Maré gracefully sat down.

"Cobrir will swim to shore," Maré explained to Will who nodded once the Anaconda's length was through the gate and closed it behind him.

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Maré da Vida had been born into a village deep in the heart of the Amazon basin. Most of her youth she had heard of the devil snake that kidnapped children but had disregarded it as myth.

3 months after her thirteenth birthday, Vi as she like to be called, had been out collecting water for her mother the day it had happened.

Trudging along, Vi wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, such as the enormous snake stalking her through the marsh.

She wasn't paying attention because she was thinking of the forty year old man her father had chosen for her to marry when she turned 15. The man was fat, ugly and already had 3 other wife's. That didn't matter all her greedy father thought about was marrying off the youngest of his daughters to yet another rich man for an exorbitant bride price.

Vi was the youngest of 5 daughters each more beautiful than the last. All the men in the region had practically begged her father to give them away in marriage. In the end her four older sisters had been married off to the highest bidders.

Vi hated her father more and more as she watched her beloved sisters be given away like objects in trade for large bride prices.

Julio, Vi's older and only brother lived like a prince on the money his father earned from the bride prices. All the while Vi was made to exercise to stay thin and bathed in honey and rose water to keep her skin soft and clear.

Retrieving large jugs of water was one such 'exercise' her father made her do. According to him, balancing the jug atop her head, gave her balance, good posture and most importantly made sure she didn't get lazy and fat. Personally, she thought he just wanted her as a free servant.

Having finally reached the hole in the limestone that held the waters of the aquifer as they bubbled up, Vi bent over and began filling the pottery jug.

"Do you like the water, lover," a low whispering voice came from the water.

Looking around her she couldn't find the source, starting to panic Vi stood up with her jug of water only to drop it as she screamed loudly in fear.

Right under where she had been filling her water jug, was a gargantuan Anaconda coiled in the water. It head was the size of her foot and it hovered above the water, it's gleaming yellow eyes staring at her.

Trembling with fear, Vi stepped back past the shattered pottery only to be pushed forward by the tail of the beast that had left the water and was now coiling around her waist.

"I said do you like the water, lover," the Anaconda hissed.

The gem like yellow eyes drew her in and the girl whose name meant Tide of Life took a mesmerized stop forward.

"Yes, I can feel it within you," the Snake said, "You are of the water, you are mine."

Vi stepped forward unable to control herself from following the inexplicable draw the snake had.

One step towards. Another into the water. Closer, closer towards the snake.

She opened her eyes when she was completely submerged, and watched the snake as it joined her beneath the water.

The crystal clear spring allowed her to see what could only be described as a grin, across the snake's snout. Suddenly a scared frantic look entered the snake's eyes as it seemed to feel someone running towards the spring, probably looking for the source of the scream.

Before she could react the snake lunged at her biting into her neck. Precious air escaped her lips as she screamed in pain, water filling her lungs.

Kicking off the bottom she broke the surface coughing, using her nails she pulled herself out of the water as blood flowed from the bite the snake had given her.

Pulling her upper half onto the black rock she screamed for help before collapsing and gasping in the expanding pool of blood.

The pain returned this time in her leg and she could feel herself being dragged bodily back into the water. Her echoing screams were cut off by the water as she was pulled back under.

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Father's point of view.

Pedro da Vida wasn't the best of father's but when he heard a scream that belonged unmistakably to his youngest daughter, he grabbed the ax from the wood pile and called for his son to come help him.

Racing to the aquifer where the scream had come from, Pedro hoped that his daughter was alright. He loved his daughter he really did, but in this part of the world women were worth more as wives than daughters.

Fear shot through him as he realized that he might have just lost his most precious asset.

His son, Julio yelled to him from up ahead, he had always been faster and had reached their destination before his father.

Entering the clearing Pedro da Vida froze.

The jug that he had sent his daughter out with was shattered next to a pool of blood. Along the edges of the soft limestone bank were bloody fingernails scrapes that lead a trail into the red tinged water.

"What could of done this," Pedro asked in horror as he fell to his knees next to his sobbing son.

"Devil snake," Julio answered pointing to the wide and long trail that was unmistakable as anything other than an Anaconda and a very large one at that.

The village shaman told them this had happened because of a wrong the da Vida family committed. For the rest of his days Pedro da Vida paid penitence for his supposed wrong doings.

His wife collapsed after the funeral and died peacefully in her sleep, heartbroken over the loss of her baby girl.

Julio returned the bride prices to the men his sisters had been given to and the girls returned to the village free to marry whoever they wished.

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It was like waking up in the night sky. She was floating in air surrounded on all sides with shining stars.

Shaking the cobwebs out of her mind she sat up giving herself a head rush. She hadn't been floating in air, she was floating in water. The shining stars she had seen were the glow worms hanging from the ceiling overhead, their pinpoints of light reflecting in the water around her.

Looking down at herself she noticed that her fatal wounds had been replaced with white scars.

Freezing where she sat she tentatively reached a hand out and began stroking the gleaming red and black scales. Scales that she could feel as if they were her own. Scales that were attached to a long thin fish tail where her legs should have been.

She had become one of the legendary fish women.

"It feels natural doesn't it," a familiar voice called out of the darkness.

Scrambling out of the water with her hands onto the dry embankment, Vi tried to escape the yellow eyed demon that had killed her.

"Sweet lover, I am not going to hurt you," the snake hissed soothingly as it gently coiled its body around her torso.

"My name is Cobrir and I am your destined Mate," the hissing changed to a deep baritone and the coils turned to muscular arms that pulled her against him.

Too shocked to think, Vi leaned into him, her breathing erratic. This felt natural, it felt right.

Looking down she noticed that his lower half was that of a snake.

Raising one of his hands he tightened it into a fist and steam rose from both of them. After several minutes their tails were gone and the two lay holding each other completely human.

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Amara was a Pariba Mer and having fallen in love with a fisherman. Determined to have him she had left the water and married him, never once allowing him to see her fish like tail.

Nine months later, her pregnancy had been easy and upon the day of delivery the new mother was expecting the ease to continue. What she didn't factor in was the jealous woman her husband had been engaged to before her.

Said woman knew Amara's secret having seen her in the river and felt that the demon had stolen her betrothed from her with black magic.

Before the demon child could be born the woman snuck into the birthing hut and placed a snake known by the locals as 'painful death' amongst Amara's bedding.

As planned the snake bite the mother, injecting its potent venom and killing her. However unbeknownst to the woman, Mer were most susceptible upon birth and instead of killing the child like it had his mother it laid the foundation for his future.

Cobrir was the only name the child had ever known.

All his Gran would tell him was that his mother had died giving birth to him and upon seeing his yellow eyes the village shaman had tossed him in the river screaming of devils.

Sinking to the bottom, the baby lay where he had landed for mere seconds before another Mer took him in and raised him as her own. It turned out that this Mer had been Amara's mother, his own grandmother, who had been watching the village closely and seen her grandson thrown to his would be death and saved him.

At fourteen his friend, an anaconda name Miteru, agreed to merge with him in his final change and he became as he is today.

At sixteen years of age, he had found his destined Mate and in his haste to claim her had gone into a frenzy, nearly killing her.

Luckily for both of them, he had made it to the cavern that he himself had been changed in, right as the sacred lights of the glow worms began their special dance that caused the water to bubble and glow.

It had saved her and ever since the two of them had lived together as man and wife.

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"That's AMAZING," Lewis exclaimed as he stared at the two of them, "Not only can you change in to a Mer you can turn into a giant freaking snake."

"Basically," Cobrir grinned, his bronze skin matching his wife's perfectly as they sat arm in arm.

"Trust me it wasn't so great when I thought he was going to eat me," Vi smiled, nudging her husband with her elbow.

"It's going to take some getting used to see someone so young married," Emma said.

"I don't think it's all that odd," Penny laughed, her and Zenchō were inseparable after Rose had gotten to them with her spear.

"I suppose you're right. It's just that I'm nearly 21 and I'm only engaged. You guys have been married since she was thirteen," Emma shrugged, "I guess it's just a different culture."

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Reviews are lovely. More mers please one or two more spots open. :D


	13. The Tales of Ice

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Chapter 13

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Anytime dinner was served at the Island, multiple sets had to be made.

13 for the omnivores who ate a normal human diet, 5 for the vegetarians who no longer eat meat, and 3 for the solely carnivorous Sadaka, Vi and Cobrir.

At first being purely carnivorous confused the others, but when it was realized that the three of them had been merged with carnivores there was no fuss about preparing entirely different dishes.

Sadaka the Bull shark hybrid, Cobrir the Anaconda Mer and Vi the half Piranha. She apparently had eaten the sharp toothed fish for lunch the day she had turned. All three of them had also gone to Lewis to have their teeth fixed.

"How on earth can you stand eating those poor creatures," Cleo asked her face scrunched in disgust. It seemed that every time the group ate together like this, the conversation would turn to Carnivore vs Herbivore.

"Easy watch," Cobrir smiled showing his currently visible curved python fangs. Lifting one of the raw seasoned fish filets to his mouth he unhinged his jaw in a rather snake like fashion and swallowed the filet whole.

"I didn't need the mechanics, I just wanted to know how you live with yourselves," Cleo pouted.

"It's what our body wants, just like you crave whatever the hell that crap is that you're eating," Vi wrinkled her face in disgust as she popped a chunk of raw fish in her mouth.

"It's not crap, its smoked kelp wrapped around a fried plantain with rice," Zenchō retorted biting into his with gusto.

Rikki pretended to gag off to the side, much to the amusement of the rest. She was holding a well done hamburger with bacon, lettuce and tomato.

Ever since each of the vegetarians had discovered their ability to speak in some way with the semi to fully sentient organisms in the sea their bodies seemed to have stopped wanting to eat meat, and started wanting to consume only overly healthy organic plant matter, much to disgust of everyone else.

Kelp, seaweed, and algae for some reason was a regular craving for them as well as the natural fruit growing in the orchards and gardens that Bella had planted and grown practically overnight with her powers. It fed the whole clan very well and made the entire island smell of constantly blooming fruit blossoms.

"I prefer being an omnivore thank you very much," Mikkela commented around her first ever hamburger that she seemed to be enjoying very much. Malina rolled her eyes at her best friend as she bit into the plantain.

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One of the latest additions to their ever growing group, was named Mikkela of the Svalbardian clan. Or at least this was how she introduced herself.

According to her she was the last surviving member of the clan that had inhabited the coast of Svalbard for the last 1000 years.

They had never interacted with humans or even bothered them in the least. However this changed when 700 hundred years ago a greedy Viking king who had settled on the archipelago, spotted a white haired beauty singing as she combed her silky locks atop a cliff overlooking the frothy grey sea. What had peaked his interest the most was the gleaming silver and white tail where her legs should have been.

Igeborg, as he was known, lusted to possess the mythical beauty as a wife.

Nearly five years passed as he sent her gifts of proposal daily, each one spurned by the ethereal woman.

She did not speak his language but she did understand what he wanted from her.

Even if she hadn't already found her Mer life Mate she would not have even considered the tyrant because of his selfish tendencies.

Finally, after waiting much to long for satisfaction the Viking rode out with his army to the coast to give the she-fish one last chance. Upon reaching the shore where the Mer lived, the king was enraged to find his 'betrothed' lying in the surf kissing another man who also had a silver tail.

Anger filled him as he ran into the waves and sliced the man's head off his shoulders. Screaming with loss the Mermaid had used the few words she knew in the Vikings language.

"I will never marry you, you vile cretin. I and My kind will forever hate you and your descendants," She had shouted angrily as a dense blizzard began covering the land.

Outraged the King mandated that any and all Mer seen anywhere were to be killed on sight and their bodies brought to him. The reward was 100 gold pieces per body.

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In this region the Mer population was at nearly 100 the largest since Atlantis had been destroyed.

The same night the infamous 10 year blizzard started, was the same night that Astrid the princess and leader of the clan killed herself out of grief for her lost Mate. Her daughter Agnes filled with fury at the death of her parents took the throne and commanded that any Viking seen anywhere near the coast was to be drowned on sight.

For every twenty men killed 1 Mer was brought to the king. And so it continued until the animosity between the two faction rose to a climax and they killed each other out of hate, completely forgetting the money and simply killing the Mer out of the superstitious fear that had consumed them.

Evolving over time most the clan lost their silver easily spotted tails in favor of a granite colored one that blended with the rocky coastline.

After so much fighting only two remained.

Sadly, the local fishers were still on the lookout for the 'evil' fish people that haunted their legends.

The surviving Mers were sisters, name Hilda and Mikkela, both had heard the sanctuary call over the last few months, but Hilda who was only 12 and had fallen sick, was unable to make the arduous journey.

One morning the sisters were swimming along when the younger mermaid spotted a beautiful shell lying 50 feet below on the sea floor. Glad her sister was feeling well enough to be enjoying herself Mikkela had happily swum to the bottom to retrieve the shell.

Upon turning around Mikkela was horrified to see blood filling the water as her sister was dragged to the surface, a metal harpoon thrust through her stomach.

Screaming with fear Mikkela had shot towards her and attempted to free her dying sister as she was raised over the edge of the boat towards the celebrating voices on deck.

Shaking with righteous fury, Ela as she was called, pulled herself up the anchor chain and onto the deck.

Her beloved little sister lay dead in a pool of blood as the men congratulated themselves on grabbing a she-fish. Before they could even turn and see her, she froze them solid, grief filling her heart as she grabbed Hilda's body and returned to the sea.

Clutching the still bleeding body of her 12 year old baby sister, Ela turned to the boat and froze it. Solid, clear ice enveloped the ship until it was an iceberg bobbing in the sea. A memorial and a sign of justice for her sister as it were.

Following the traditions her mother had taught her, Ela laid poor little Hilly to rest and started the journey towards the sanctuary call.

The last of Princess Astrid's descendants left the coast, her distinct long ice white hair flowing behind her as she hid away the pain and loss, as she promised herself never again to allow such horrid fighting to occur again.

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Malina and Ela had met during the long journey towards the sanctuary. Malina had been swimming along leisurely en route to the beautiful island the music promised her.

Having just passed the horn of Africa, the fourteen year old mermaid was hit with a bout of curiosity.

Right in front of her was a speed boat bobbing in the water. Naturally it wasn't the boat itself that caught her attention. No, it was the fact that the boat was encased in a half an iceberg.

A boat trapped in ice was something she had seen more than once or twice having grown up in Nunavut. However the thing that had grabbed her attention was that this 'iceberg' was floating in shallow tropical water. Looking closer at the icy mass Malina noticed an odd figure in the ice. Suddenly she shot away from the iceberg in shock. The figure hadn't been in the ice it had been on the other side of it. The glass like clarity had given her a clear view of a woman with a rather distinct lower half. Just like Malina had a white as ice tail, the figure that was grinning at her, had a grey granite colored tail. Malina blinked as the other Mer motioned in the direction of a number of rocks that were jutting above the boulders.

Swimming after the white haired beauty Malina's heart grew hopeful. Perhaps her loneliness was about to come to an end.

Ela explained that the boat had belonged to pirates and they had tried to kill her.

For hours the two had sat on the rocks while Ela told her story of heartbreak. Finally Ela finished and urged Lina to tell her story.

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Malina was the youngest in her family, the youngest of 6 in fact. Being the seventh child and a girl had garnered her quite a bit of attention over the years; however, the thing that really got a response was her ice blue eyes.

Ela was confused as to why blue eyes were special, she herself had them.

Lina then explained that she was an Inuit from the Canadian Province of Nunavut. She had grown up in a village of less than 50 people all of whom were of Asiatic descent and therefore had brown-black eyes.

Upon her birth, the Midwife had thought that because of the cloudy white film over her eyes that she was blind.

Her parents had been very upset by this and ended up treating her like a porcelain doll. Unbeknownst to them however, Malina could in fact see very well, in truth, she had better eye sight than the people surrounding her.

The fact that she could see wasn't discovered until her third birthday.

During the party celebrating her age, her oldest brother Anyu had bought her a bright purple teddy bear.

Her family surrounded her as her parents unwrapped and handed her each of the new presents. With each one she was handed she giggled and thank in toddler English to the person who gave it to her but wouldn't pay much attention to the actual gifts.

That is until she was handed a large purple bear.

"It's a teddy bear from Anyu, Malina," her mother said as she pressed the small bear into her daughters hands.

"Dank you for da purpa bear Anyu," Malina said squeezing the bear. Her entire family had frozen as they stared at the cloudy white eyes of the child.

"How does she know what color it is," her third oldest brother asked.

"I-I don't know, I didn't tell her," her Mother answered incredulously.

"It's purpa dat's how," Malina smiled.

The family started handing her things, asking her to identify their color and what they were.

Each and every time she got it right.

"How is this possible," her father asked.

Standing in front of Lina's high chair he acted as if he was about to flick her in the eye. Pulling back just in time he succeeded in surprising the child enough for her to blink.

However it was not the blink that you or I would or any human would for that matter, would react with.

Instead of blinking her tan fleshy eyelids the white film over her eyes receded and recovered her eyes in a lightning fast fashion.

"S-She has those eye lids, you know that-that reptiles have," another brother blurted.

The family debated with each other while Malina sat contentedly playing with her bear.

"I want to try something," her mother said. Anana, her mother, leaned over Malina and looked her over.

"Malina, sweet heart can you open your eyes," she asked. Before she could finish, the reptile like lids flashed open and stayed that way, to reveal a pair of perfect clear ice blue eyes.

From that day on Malina was heralded as a miracle by her remote little village that refused any doctors for the child saying that the gods would be angry for questioning them.

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Ten years later she could be found gathering food for her family's dinner. It was a week into the season of night and the sky of above her had remained dark for the same amount of time.

On the menu tonight was Urchin Stew, which as indicated needed Urchins to make. So at 11 A.M on this fateful night Malina carried a seal skin to hold her quarry, a chain saw and a wooden ladder.

Where Malina lived in the Arctic Circle was directly off the coast. Thus they collected most of their food from the sea.

This was made difficult by the layer of ice over the ocean as well as the below freezing water beneath it. Such conditions made it so one could only collect sea urchins at 11 A.M. when the tide went out leaving a roof of frozen foot thick ice over a pocket of air.

So Malina used the chainsaw to cut through the ice and then the ladder to climb the twenty feet down to the still wet ocean floor.

She used her hour of time to quickly find and gather the twenty urchins needed to feed her family. As soon as she obtained her prey she headed back towards the ladder which wasn't a hundred feet away. Swinging the sack of urchins over her shoulder she quickly climbed to the top of the ladder and stuck her head out the hole.

To her horror she couldn't see a thing; in every direction was a wall of white. A blizzard had come out of nowhere and was blowing fiercely.

Before she could move, a sudden gust of icy wind blasted her off the ladder. She fell twenty feet to the hard stone below her left femur snapping as she landed. She couldn't move, she was paralyzed.

The Tide flowed in and claimed her prone body as it rose, its freezing current carrying her out to sea.

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At 11:30 A.M. a fourteen year old girl died of hypothermia and asphyxiation by water.

At midnight on the seventh day of the Season of Night a seventh child of the Inuit, from a human branch of Mer, was revived.

Malina awoke naked with every inch of her body encrusted in a thin layer of ice. Yet she didn't feel cold, she felt free. An all-encompassing sense of Freedom swelled within her.

Shakily standing up she investigated her body. The leg she had broken was perfectly mended. Her once tan native skin had a blue frost bitten hue to it. It wasn't painful, it was actually rather beautiful. Instead of ugly blotched red acne that she had before, she admired her reflection in the pool of frozen water she had woken up on. Her skin was an even white blue like ice and was perfectly clear and smooth. No acne, no imperfections.

Her black hair had blue white streaks through it. Rubbing the snowflakes away from her skin she noticed that she no longer had even the slightest bit of hair anywhere on her body.

She had died, she knew that much, she remembered hitting her head. She remembered being frozen and unable to wove and the tide rose, its waves lapping at her. She remembered the tears that froze on her face as the salty water covered her head and filled her lungs. Icy black water had taken her life and the eerie light of the full Blue moon floating above her had given it back.

Finally able to concentrate she sat for at least an hour admiring the ice sculpture of a mermaid set at the edge of the frozen pool.

From what she could tell she was on a floating iceberg miles away from land in the middle of the open sea. Said iceberg was like a bowl made of thick white ice with a pool of frozen blue at the bottom of the mermaid statue.

Curiosity got the better of her as she climbed up the ice mermaid and inspected the glowing white stone set in a blue snail shell on its necklace. The necklace flew off the statues neck and wrapped around Malina's, however instead of strangling her it tied itself in place and used the last of its momentum to push her off the statue into the now liquid blue water of the pool.

An electric tingle filled her body for a moment before clearing, leaving her gasping at a pure ice white tail. It was smooth without scales and felt like wet rubber. Unsure of where she had felt such a thing before she gasped again as she remembered the feel of a beluga's tail.

Unlike the whales, hers was thin and streamlined more like a dolphins shape than the fat tail of her favorite arctic whale.

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Using her new ability she swam back to the mainland and was surprised to find that her village was not where she had left it. Nothing was there just a field of white pack snow for miles in every direction.

Walking along sobbing her grief she realized that the same blizzard that had taken her life had also buried her village in 30 feet of snow.

Digging down ten feet into the snow she got into one of the houses and ignoring the huddled frozen bodies of her cousins, she gathered some seal skins to wear and a set of hunting equipment.

It would have been impossible to escape such a sudden storm. She knew in her heart that her family was dead, and so with frozen tears she marked and built 47 grave markers each with a name of a villager.

Leaving the mass grave that was her childhood home, she set out for the open ocean prepared to make her way through life.

Six months into her now human free existence she heard the sanctuary call and left the beluga whales that had become her family for what she knew was her destiny.

The youngest of the beluga's, the three year old Sura followed her best friend Malina on her journey to the paradise, keeping her company and talking to her to keep her from going insane. That's right Malina found out two days into her new existence that she could communicate with animals of intelligence.

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"Wow that's amazing, have you told anyone else a story since you changed," Ela asked in awe.

"No, why," Lina asked confused.

"I don't know how to explain it but when you told your story it was- it was almost as if I was there watching you. I could feel the cold, see the ice and your- oh you poor child I could feel your grief from when you found your village. It was an amazing experience," Ela exclaimed.

And so Lina's ability to telepathically show her audience a story came to light.

Followed closely by Sura, Ela and Lina continued to follow the Sanctuary call.

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Present

"Hey, Lina how about you shut these people up about food with one of your magic stories," Emma laughed as Cleo continued ranting about fish rights.

"I don't know I kind of have to agree, eating animals is barbaric," Lina grinned in response before launching into the mesmerizing tale of the polar bear that fell in love with a Wolf.

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Sorry I haven't updated in a while I'm a teenager and it is summer vacation.

I wanted to tell you that I can't take any more Mers, I have my Twenty. This story will probably only be a few more chapters not sure exactly how many but I'll figure it out. Review.

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	14. The Arrest

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Chapter 14

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Despite the cheerful chattering of the group, you could almost sense the tense anxiousness that surrounded them.

Ever since Nate had announced to the community that the 'Wall Patrollers' were also mermaids and mermen that could become human, the town had been in uproar searching for possible Mers. Several teens that believed that it wasn't a hoax, unlike most the adults, had taken to wearing a water gun on their belt loop.

Unfortunately, the matter was made worse, when Nate made sure that they knew what to look for. He had warned everyone that the Mers wore glowing jewels.

Our favorite group of friends made sure to hide the stones while in public. They would have just taken them off entirely, if Lewis hadn't discovered that they had apparently been absorbing their Mer magic while they were in human form.

After researching the scrolls in the Council's Cavern, they had learned that if they were to remove the moonstone at this point more than just their eye color would show. The magic of the Island was amplifying their own and thus transforming even their human forms.

In fact when Alison had removed hers as an experiment, her contacts dissolved exposing her eyes and her normally black hair acquired orange stripes.

Without the stones absorbing their ambient magic it was impossible to appear human.

Thus the predicament that the crew was fretting over.

They just needed to wait one more week. During the Queens visit to Sydney, they would announce themselves to her and hope they would be recognized as an independent nation.

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While they sipped at their juices, Nate and his currently ever present camera, walked into the Café.

He had searched the entire town and hadn't seen a single stone. Frustrated and more than a bit impatient Nate had taken to squirting people randomly just to test them.

Of course when he had squirted Zane, Zane had promptly told him that if he sprayed the damn gun in his Café again he would be banned faster than a yeast infection could spread through a college.

"I'll have a turkey on rye with tomato and mayo please," Nate requested pleasantly enough from the employee behind the register.

To his right was a rather pretty little blond wearing pink shorts and a tight white tank top.

"Hello there babe, what's your name," Nate asked the blonde, as she sat at the counter on a stool waiting for her order.

The girl turned with a smile, which quickly turned sour as she recognized his face.

"Rose," she answered stiffly.

"Hey there, why so cold," Nate flirted with the cute teen. He wasn't sure of her age but with his recent fame he could get away with it.

"I have a boyfriend thank you," Rose stated before turning her back to him and hopping off the stool.

As she did this the keys to the motor bike Zane had recently bought her, fell from her pocket to the floor. With a quick huff of frustration she leaned down to pick them up only to be intercepted by a distinctly male hand which snatched the keys.

Rose didn't feel her necklace as it slipped from its hiding place beneath her shirt, as she stood from her bent over position and snatched the keys from the suddenly still hand of Nate Cunningham.

"You're one of them," was all that Nate could manage as he stared at the glowing pink stone at the end of a chain around her neck.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Rose stuttered as she grabbed her order and headed towards the door intending to drive away from this.

"HEY EVERYBODY SHE'S ONE OF THEM," Nate shouted getting the attention of the patrons as he snatched the necklace from around her neck, breaking the delicate chain.

The crowd stared as the blonde suddenly became pink haired and her blue eyes became a bright rosy color.

Before Rose could react farther than making a terrified face, Nate pulled his the small yellow water gun from his pocket and emptied it onto the pink haired girl.

Thud

Rose lay on her stomach with her tail and seashell bra exposed for all to see, including the excited Channel 7 camera man.

Nate reached down and grabbed her by the arm, wrenching her up with some difficulty as she struggled against him.

"Proof, solid evidence for all of you that said it was a hoax," Nate said as he held Rose's arms tightly against him.

Leon had just come out of the men's room to see a crying Rose in her mermaid form being held hostage by Nate.

Seeing red, Leon pushed his way through the crowd and into the cleared area around Nate.

"You think that exposing and humiliating a seventeen year old girl makes you a hero," Leon challenged, he needed to catch Nate off guard.

"It's not about humiliation, I just proved that mermaids existed," Nate boasted to the crowd. Said crowd seemed to have a mixed response.

All seemed surprised but more than half of them seem to sympathize with Leon's words.

"I say you let her go before you end up with a shiner instead of a shiny medal for your stupidity," Leon threatened.

Nate looking around at the faces of the café's patrons realized he wasn't the good guy in this. Unfortunately, Nate isn't well known for his lack of stubbornness.

Still clutching a sobbing, squirming Rose, Nate pushes his way through the surprised crowd, past the deck and onto the sand of the beach adjacent to the Café.

"What do you plan on doing swimming away," Leon taunted.

The crowd had followed them outside and was watching from the deck of the Café.

Nate realizing the futility in his action dropped Rose and was about to make a run for it when he spotted the red glow of a ruby set ring that was swinging from a previously hidden chain around his neck.

"HE'S ONE OF THEM," Nate shouted to the crowd, "HE'S ONE OF THE FISH PEOPLE."

The crowd seemed shocked and unsure as they looked at the seemingly normal man. Rose had used her arms to crawl into the surf and had disappeared.

Rolling his eyes Leon raised his fist and decked Nate sending him into a spin. Catching himself by landing on his knee Nate shook the stars from his eyes and remembering his judo training spun a leg out knocking Leon to back in the sand.

Quickly jumping to their feet the two of them circled each other. Nate had skill but Leon had the brute strength that came with being a Mer.

Nate came at him attempting to kick him in the chest. Using his better than human agility Leon, bent back at the knee and caught Nate's foot. With his closest knee Leon tried and would have succeeded to knee the younger boy in the gonads if Nate hadn't surprised him by snapping the chain holding his wedding band and spinning out of his grasp.

Leon hissed and snarled to the shock of the watching café as his eyes turned to their natural stripes. Most surprising of all is that instead of his hair changing like Rose's had his arms sprouted the venomous spines of a Lionfish.

"WHAT THE FUCK," Nate screamed scrambling away.

Realizing that he had an audience, Nate summoned up his courage and launched himself at the hissing man.

A gasp rose from the crowd as Leon crossed his arms in front of himself to prevent Nate's attack. Nate stopped, but not until Leon's venomous spines had embedded themselves a half inch into his skin.

Gasping in pain, Nate collapsed backward, leaving Leon's spines glistening with red.

"Shit, man are you alright," Leon dropped down next to the now convulsing boy.

Realizing that he had to act fast, Leon used his razor sharp finger nails to rip the boys t-shirt away from his chest. Concentrating on affect, Leon pierced the barely breathing Nate with his thumb nail and allowed the antidote to fill the cut he had created.

It would be a while before Nate was a hundred percent but it was better than never getting up again.

Hearing the sirens in the distance Leon leaped to his feet, kemala in hand and left the unconscious boy in the sand as he disappeared into the waves.

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Emergency personnel had arrived and were questioning each of the witnesses.

"Name and date of birth," the Officer asked attentively. At the first mention of mermaids being uncovered, the local authorities had made sure to follow protocol to the tee knowing that the following investigation would be intensively critiqued.

"William Benjamin, June 7th 1991," Will answered quickly hoping to join the others in Zane's office.

"Benjamin you say," the Officer asks.

At the moment the Officer was reminded of a story about a boy named Will Benjamin that his friend Bruce had told him about. Bruce had first met Will on an Emergency call. His old friend, swore up and down that Will couldn't be human because if he was he'd be dead.

It was rather suspicious that someone 'who couldn't be human' was at the scene of two fish people being discovered.

"Do you have anything you'd like to declare," the Officer asked suddenly.

"What, this isn't the airport," Will said absent mindedly as he notices his wife being questioned.

"Sir, are you wearing any jewelry matching the description of a glowing stone set in a necklace, bracelet or ring," the officer narrowed his eyes at the glint of silver around Will's neck.

"No are we done or are you going to ask something relevant about what happened," Will said suddenly nervous.

Bella had been the last of his group to be questioned and she disappeared into the office closing the door behind her.

Protocol to hell, if there were more of those creepy fish people then he was going to uncover them.

While William Benjamin was looking to the side the Police Officer reached out and pulled the necklace into full view.

Will grabbed the man's wrist before he could completely snap the chain.

"He's one of them," the Officer shouts out causing his uniformed buddies to turn, hand on their holstered tasers.

"That's ridiculous, I was just trying to stop you from stealing my necklace," Will said releasing the officer's arm.

Regrettably, the Officer did not release the necklace and upon removing his clenched hand from the vicinity of Will's neck, broke the chain.

The remaining witnesses that hadn't been questioned gasped along with the officers as Will's blue eyes turned to a bright glowing purple and shimmering indigo highlights appeared in his hair. Black Henna swirled into existence as intricate waves on his arms.

Before he could move handcuffs were slapped onto his wrists as two men started pushing him towards the waiting car.

"Alright so I'm a Mer, what's my bloody crime," Will asked as he came to a halt in the middle of a staring crowd.

The entire town seems to have turned up for the breaking news.

Looking back and forth at each other the cops seem to realize that they couldn't arrest him without a crime.

"You assaulted an officer of the law," one offers obviously uncertain.

"He assaulted me first," Will says childishly before remembering who he was, "And if you don't want to start a war then you'll release me from these cuffs."

"W-war," one of the officers asks suddenly nervous.

"Yes War, those earlier Mer were just regular run of the mill citizens. I on the other hand, happen to be a member of the Royal Council. So I'd be much obliged if you'd remove these cuffs!"

Without removing the cuffs, four of the highest ranking cops huddled up to discuss the predicament. After reaching an apparent agreement the largest one approached Will who was nonchalantly leaning against the cop car still in his handcuffs.

"We've decided that you need to come down to headquarters with us and when we get there we'll decide what to do," the Officer said.

"Alright but if my siblings get angry about it, I'm not taking the blame and I truly feel sorry for you if my wife gets a hold of you," Will laughed as he was half pushed into the cop car.

The Council had already agreed that if any of them were captured, that the person taken was to be cooperative, warn their captures that it could start a war and then wait. After giving them a chance to release them, an already chosen group would come and free the captive mer.

He was only to use his powers against them if absolutely necessary. No maiming but a demonstration or two was allowed.

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Will had been sitting in the interrogation room for at least an hour before the cops had been brave enough to actually talk to him.

He calmly refused any drink or food in case it was poisoned or they wanted a DNA sample. Finally the door opened and a man that looked to be about thirty entered carrying a case file.

"William Benjamin, age 21, born in Australia, spent five years from ages 12 to 17 traveling the world with your parents then returned to Australia for the last 4 years. Oddly enough it says you were a diving champion, I suppose that you had a bit of an unfair advantage. Now..what I can't figure out is how you have human records, fish-boy."

"No need to be derisive, until four years ago I was a human," Will replied evenly. They were going to expose themselves soon anyway, might as well start by showing cooperation with the local authorities.

"Mind telling me how it's possible to suddenly change species like that," the interrogator asked gruffly.

"First tell me your name, I'd at least like to be introduced to the man who's questioning me like I'm some inferior fish," Will rolled his eyes in response.

"My name is Officer Robert Havenash and it is my understanding that you are a fish," Robert Havenash retorts.

"I'm not a fish, I'm a highly evolved aquatic humanoid," Will sneered at the prejudicial man.

"Highly evolved my ass. From here you don't look like anything more than a two-bit punk that dyed his hair and is wearing contacts," Robert the interrogator quipped, "If you're so 'evolved' then how come you ain't got cities or nothing like we do. In fact from my understanding you freaks walk around wearing ratty canvas and seashells."

"I'm sorry that unlike you we attempt to work with and preserve the environment as is our duty, instead of ripping it to pieces and building fugly ass buildings like this piece of crap we're sitting in right here. Clothes wise we merely use whatever is on hand in the ocean. Until recently our species was barely surviving after humans destroyed massacred our people two thousand years ago. And to the city comment, ever hear of Atlantis. Ever turn the Telly on and here about the city that's being built out at Mako," Will returned irately.

Right as he finishes, the door opens admitting a grey haired man in a well cut business suit.

"Officer Havenash, if you would leave, your superior would like a word with you on protocol and how you just breached it," the new man admonishes calmly. Robert Havenash looks between the two of you as if he's unsure of himself, before standing up and exiting the room.

"I'm sorry for anything he said that may have upset or offended you. I'm Senator Lawrence McCallahan. Lawrence is fine," the Senator introduced, as he shook Will's hand and sat down across the table.

"Prince Lemah, Guardian of the Earth and a member of the Atlantean Royal Council. Will is fine," Will returned politely with a mischievious smile.

"A prince really? Would you care to explain your other titles," Lawrence asks amiably taking notes.

"I am Guardian of the Earth, I control the soils and metals and use my abilities to protect the ocean when it is threatened. The Atlantean Royal Council is a council consisting of seven other Guardians other than myself. Seven of us are Mer and one is human. We decide on things such as laws, expansions, the ocean and its health, and though we have yet to have need to do so, deliberate on any punishments that might be needed."

"Interesting, can I ask what you are building out at Mako," Lawrence asked with a sudden change of topic.

"I can't tell you. The other council members don't want it revealed until we are done but it is a residential place for my kind," Will explained.

"How do we know it's not something dangerous and all this mermaid stuff isn't a hoax to cover up a terrorist attack," Lawrence asked suddenly suspicious.

Will rolled his eyes and grabbed the water bottle off the table in front of him. Twisting the cap off he poured a small amount onto his hand.

"That's how you know it's not a hoax," Will answered.

The Senator stared at his muscular indigo tail.

"That's—that's amazing," Lawrence said getting up from his chair and coming around the table to get a closer look, "How does it change like that."

"Magic."

Lawrence laughed, "No really, how do you make your legs disappear. Is it a chemical or something?"

"No it's magic, plain and simple," Will answered, wiping the water off his hand with a Kleenex from the box in front of him.

"But…magic doesn't exist," Lawrence said unsure.

"Magic is to Mer as Electricity is to Humans," Will said sagely while grinning, "We use it for everything, it powers our cities, it constructs our buildings, it protects our territories and we use it to keep the ocean healthy."

"C-Can you do magic," Lawrence asked excitedly as he returned to his seat across the metal table.

"Yes, and I'd show you but first you'll have to tell me. Are the handcuffs really necessary?" Will asked holding his wrist up for the man to see.

"Oh, of-of course not. Here let me get those," Lawrence stuttered scrambling for the key on a ring he had been given. For a senator he really wasn't very smooth spoken but in his defense it was not everyday one gets to meet a magical Mer prince.

Lawrence the Senator froze half way around the table, key in hand as he stared at Will's wrists.

The hand cuffs seemed to be melting off his wrists into a pool of cool liquid metal on the table.

"That's better," Will said as the pool of handcuff began reformed into a tiny bird which took off flying in circles around their heads.

"Magic is real?" Lawrence exclaimed his eyes never leaving the little metal bird.

The bird flew down and landed on Will's head and began forming into a circular ban with intricate carvings. It was a crown.

"Told you I was a prince," Will smirked, standing up.

"Now Senator Lawrence, I believe we can be allies. Of course you'll have to return the necklace that officer took from me, otherwise you might have a problem on your hands," Will suggested heavily.

"Of course," Lawrence said as he turned to the two way mirror, "Officer Riley can you come in here please."

A few moments later asuspicious officer walked in. WEARING HIS Atlantean Royal Seal and Kemala.

"Hand it over you shouldn't be wearing that," Will said suddenly angry. The Magical medallion was NOT to be worn by anyone but the Atlantean Royal Council member it belonged to.

"Senator with all due respect I don't believe we should be letting it free," Officer Riley said to the Senator ignoring Will's complaint.

"I am not an IT, human. If you do not hand me the seal around your neck, you are declaring an act of WAR. That seal is not to be worn by anyone but the Guardian of the Earth and the Kemala attached to it is spelled to maim or kill anyone who hasn't participated in the ceremony of ascension."

The Officer looked at the necklace in worry.

Will still angry that his property was being worn, by the idiot that had exposed him, pulled his hand back in a snatching motion and caught the necklace as the metal flew through the air into his hand.

"HEY," the Officer said pulling his gun.

"Riley, stand down. Do you want to cause a war," Lawrence asked.

"Actually yeah, I don't see why we should have to pretend these things are anything more than over glorified fish," Riley growled cocking his gun.

"You, like that other cop think you are our superiors. Go ahead shoot me it won't hurt me, and if it did and you started a war, we would win. Any missile thrown at us we'd catch and throw back like a too small fish. If you succeeded in killing me, my brother Prince Semasan would probably drown half your country in a tsunami. My wife would turn your crops to poison and Princess Cahaya and Princess Ndari would take turns putting the world through Ice ages and intense desert droughts every other month."

Riley lowered the gun, his face tight with fear.

"Yeah, I bet you feel real superior now you prejudicial ass wipe," Will said flicking his hand at the gun, causing it to crumble into metal dust.

Riley ran screaming out the door about demons.

"I apologize on his behalf," Lawrence said stoically, "I hope our country has no problem with yours."

"None at all, there will always be people like that. Hopefully they are the exception and not the rule. I will however have to ask that you not tell the world at large too much about us, we'll be revealing ourselves soon," Will asked as he walked out of the interrogation room with the Senator.

"Understood your majesty. We'll say you wouldn't talk," the Senator answered immediately, "However to keep with protocol we'll have to keep you overnight."

"That's fine my family will come 'bail me out'. And for your politeness, when we open the gates, you're definitely invited what we are doing on the island," Will grinned. Politician or not, the Senator was going to be a good ally.

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Tiny cliffhanger I suppose

Reviews please and ideas are nice I might not use them but if there is something you always wanted from the series and never got that is related to Atlantis then review with it and I'll see if I can work it in and make a longer story.


	15. The Rescue

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Chapter 15

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2 weeks before Will's arrest

As soon as the date of the Atlantis reveal had been chosen, Lewis set about searching the Cavern's massive library of scrolls for some way to protect themselves without putting the others in danger.

Cleo sat watching Lewis with amusement, as he perused the lattice of squares that held the thousands or so scrolls that Luru had hidden in the Cavern.

"I just don't understand how he expected us to learn anything, if each time we need to use the library it switches its order up," Lewis complained as he pulled a scroll out and checked it.

"Don't look at me for an answer, I'm the Guardian of Animals, not ancient scrolls," Cleo shrugged at her husband as she stroked, Kismat, the blue and black poisonous sea krait she'd taken as a familiar. Each of the animal speaking Berbicara's had taken a familiar as well.

"It changes so that those who aren't meant to use the knowledge can't," Rikki explained as she came into the light from the shadow she'd been hiding in.

Like the rest of the Royal Council Rikki had taken to dressing appropriately on the Island in case a camera from one of the boats got a shot of them. The world was to recognize them as heads of states and as such, no matter how odd it felt, they had to dress in the official garments left to them by Luru.

Rikki was wearing a golden metal corset, that was free of any fastenings as it magically formed around her torso the moment she put it on. Her lower half was covered by a Roman style scarlet-leather pleat skirt. She was barefoot and the only things on her legs were coils of gold that similarly adorned her upper arms. In the corner of one eye and on the back of each of her hands were intricate gold henna tattoos in the shape of styled suns. Her navel length hair was in a high Roman style ponytail, held in place by a red silk ribbon.

Truthfully most Roman and Grecian styles were actually taken from the Atlantean colonies that collapsed when the kingdom itself fell.

She held a golden staffed topped with an ornate sun, the rays' of the sun were razor sharp.

Each of the Royals had received a focus object to amplify their powers along with their new wardrobe.

"If you know so much about the library, perhaps you could help Lewis," Cleo mused with a smirk.

Cleo was dressed in apparel of equivalent luxury. An aquamarine one-shoulder Egyptian style dress that ended right above her knees with slits up both thighs. Cleo's hair was in a long French braid that was draped over her fabric free shoulder. Both her arms were ornamented from shoulder to hand with silver coils of metal that ended in a ring around her index fingers. Her stomach, cheek bones and the spaces in between the coils on her arm were tattooed in shimmering blue henna with intricate abstract drawings of waves and animals. A sharpened rib of a whale, decorated with sapphires and carvings, lay as a sword attached to the silver belt around her waist; this was her focus.

"I plan to, BUT only once he asks for help," Rikki announced smugly as she turned to look at Lewis.

Having lost all aspects of imperfection and fat to the magic that had transformed his nearly five years ago, Lewis looked rather rakish in his tight black Indian-style Kurta. Every inched of his body except for his hands and face was covered in the luxurious onyx material that was edged with a red and silver border. His focus, a black obsidian staff, was topped with a glowing ruby the size of a man's fist that was surrounded in a silver cage; it was strapped to his back as he riffled through the library. Black henna could be seen on his hands and two lines on each cheekbone which made him look very magical indeed with his smiling burgundy eyes.

"Alright, if you know so much, be my guest," Lewis challenged his frustration showing from the last three hours of searching

"Atlantean Protection and Defense," Rikki said in Atlantean. As soon as the words left her mouth three scrolls leapt from the shelves and sped towards Rikki, who caught them with a deft hand.

"There you go, three scrolls on protection," Rikki smiled handing them to the scowling Lewis, "A thank you will suffice."

"This is amazing it'll take at least Bella, Will and I to create them but the possibilities are endless. In fact if these work, then we can stop patrolling the walls as soon as they are finished," Lewis said ignoring Rikki who was rolling her eyes turned away and went to enter the personal pool Ash had made for them. She sighed as she slipped into the self-boiled water; heat no longer affected her now that she had control over fire. She stretched out as she upped the temperature till steam was billowing from the water.

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1 week before Will is arrested

In the end, the seven Mer on the Council had all pitched in on the 'defense' project that Lewis was so fired up about.

On midnight of the Full moon a large round ornate frame stood upright on a slab of white marble.

"The instructions say that once the frame is created it only needs to be activated once, then it will spawn up to 50 of the crystal guards that I mentioned earlier," Lewis said reading the scroll.

Said scroll gave step by step instruction on how to make animated nearly indestructible diamond guards that were once known everywhere as Atlantean Sentinels. They were 7 foot tall animated intelligent statues whose sole purpose was to guard, protect, serve and obey the Atlantean Royal Council and their families.

The intelligence was to come from the resurrected spirits of Mer soldiers or servants that had volunteered for such a fate on their death beds and until now had been waiting in limbo. They would be alive again, unable to be killed, because even if somehow their diamond bodies were destroyed, they would be immediately resurrected through the portal that was their original spawn point or reassembled on sight by any capable Tanah on hand.

As the Full moon charged the seven blue Kemalas set in the frame, Emma boosted its ability, as Rikki was able to do with her Sunstones, and finished the permanent activation.

Lewis began chanting the fifty names of the Mer who had volunteered their spirits to the protection of Atlantis.

Each name shouted seemed to burgeon the shimmering membrane of light, which was appearing like a soap bubble inside the ornate 12 foot frame.

Finally as the moon shone right above them, shining off their reflective dark glasses, Rikki shot a bold of lightning which hit the frame and finished the summoning.

"I call forth eight of you to protect and serve the Atlantean Royal council," Lewis commanded throwing a bolt of his own magic at the largest Kemala at the top of the frame.

After a moment of uncertainty a crystal foot appeared through the membrane before expanding and emitting the rest of a seven foot tall man. It was so life like that it would have passed as human if it had not been translucent crystal.

For the next several minutes Sentinel after Sentinel appeared through the iridescent portal.

"Your Majesties, please assign us," the beefiest of the eight requested as the last to join the line. The portal showed no sign of turning off.

"Give us a moment," Lewis said as he gestured for the other seven to huddle up with him.

"I have to admit that is kind of awesome," Ash grinned at Lewis.

"Totally I mean other than the eyes they could almost pass as statues," Emma agreed.

"That's the point not only does their body make they invulnerable, they can hide amongst the city as statues and any visitor's would be none the wiser unless they misbehaved.

"Back to the present guys, they want us to assign them. Personally I say let them choose it's be easier than us fighting over them," Zane said.

And so they did.

Zane was chosen by Rohan the beefy one seeing as he was the only human and was the most vulnerable.

Ash was chosen by Zorin the slightly shorter and skinnier brother of Rohan.

Emma and Rikki were chosen by the identical twins Arala and Alara.

Cleo was chosen by Lirua an eighteen year old girl who died in the first wave of attacks on Old Atlantis.

Bella was chosen by Konur a sixteen year old boy who had been injured during a fight against the Egytians and had died slowly form his wounds.

Lewis was chosen by a forty year old woman who had been a mage like Lewis and wished to teach him more. Her name was Laemasa

Will was chosen by Sirat who had been stabbed by a Minoan native when he turned his back after trying to be merciful and not kill the man.

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Present

Will Benjamin was lying on his back with one knee crossed over the other, as he used his powers to doodle in the metal of the ceiling of his cell.

So far he had managed a rather good rendition of Officer Riley with his pants down. He knew his friends would be here within the hour. The only thing he was actually worried about was his wife, and whether or not she'd be angry that he'd gotten caught.

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Psychological warfare. Emma and Lewis had meticulously planned out how to rescue anyone who was captured. No matter where the person was taken, the rescuers would enter the building containing the captured Mer, dressed in the Armor that Rose and Bella had created. They would do it remaining under the façade of mysterious mythical beings. In doing so they kept a psychological advantage over any potential aggressors by maintain an air of the unknown.

Would you fight something you have no idea how to fight? Better yet would you fight seven foot tall indestructible warriors?

Having been chosen in advanced for their skills, Zane, Sadaka and Gloriana stood under the Grecian style Pavilion preparing for the rescue mission.

Will was perfectly able to free himself but according to Emma, who seemed to have a rather political and devious mind, this was a perfect opportunity to show they were ready and able to fight if threatened. Something she swore would be necessary if they were to be taken seriously as a country.

This was going to prove to the world that New Atlantis was willing to fight for every single citizen and was powerful enough to do so with impunity.

A slightly rattled Rose was working with Bella and Cleo to dress the three rescuers in the bullet proof armor designed by Ash for combat.

To create the flexible full body armor, Cleo would mold the water into thin 3 inch by 1 inch rectangles, Bella would harden the water then Rose and Gloria would turn platinum with a diamond over coat. Then the girls would sew the different plates in an overlapping pattern so that it was flexible but no bullet could get through. Their legs and arms were covered with the wet suit that Gloria had changed to flexible steel. For shoes they wore horseback riding boots that brought new meaning to steel toed boot, the entire shoe was steel with soft padding on the inside.

They were equipped with diamond tridents that shimmered in the sun light as well as open faced platinum helmets from the treasury.

Zane was to forgo the helmet so that his crown band would be in view of everyone and instead of platinum he wore gold armor.

Each of their faces was covered by the thin opaque glass water mask Bella created for them.

They were to arrive in a sizable diamond Viking style ship that Sadaka, Cleo, Bella and Gloriana had created the week before. The white sails had been hand stitched by Rose and had enormous golden tridents crossing on them.

The illusion was complete; the boat would be steered and moved with Sadaka's abilities, while Zane played the part of an important Royal sitting on his diamond throne. Gloria was instructing the Sentinel on how to present themselves to the humans, including how to deal with any aggressors. Yelling was not counted only touching.

Creating echelons always had a way of causing rifts, however everyone agreed that the appearance of hierarchy would help the humans accept Mers.

"If you think for one second I'm not going with you when that is MY husband you are rescuing then you have another thing coming," Bella Benjamin growled menacingly, "I am not above petrifying the water in your body."

And so Bella was added as a spectator to the rescue operation her Sentinel Konur joining the group. Instead of armor like the others wore, she opted to wear a set of her ceremonial garb, such as the two piece green silk sari dress Vi had made for her. When her Mate was freed he'd have something extra special waiting for him.

Her garb was two rectangles of shimmering silk that matched her vivid green eyes. The sides of her hips and legs were bare except for the belt of gold seashells holing the silk up. An intricate twist of the green silk cupped her breast and was held in place by a web of smaller golden seashells. Pearls adorned her hair as well as a small golden tiara. She appeared every bit as an exotic Atlantean princess.

Golden bangles jangled as she angrily crossed her arms, focus scepter in hand, and stepped aboard the crystal boat. Sadaka swirled the water in a bubble over the deck to keep them dry and he submerged the boat in the water and followed the deep travel channel towards the mainland.

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The Mackay District Police Station was situated directly across from an open portion of the beach full of sunbathers and the currently burgeoning crowd of news reporters and protestors.

In the last four hours that Will had been held inside the police station people from all over Australia had come to either protest the captivity of the Mer or call for its religiously sanctioned execution.

Senator Lawrence was presently standing at a podium in front of the steps of the police station giving a press conference.

"At this time the only thing we can affirm is that the being we currently have in custody is in fact a species that call themselves Mer," Senator Lawrence stated to the shouting crowd. He pointed to a young female reporter a few rows from the podium.

"Senator Lawrence what do you have to say about the fact that one of these Mer attacked Nate Cunningham," the journalist shouted microphone in hand.

"From witness statements it is obvious that the Mer in question did not in fact attack anyone but was defending itself as well as a juvenile of their species," Lawrence answered using the information Will had given him. No other names had been exchanged but the situation had been made aware.

"Will the new species come under the animal laws or will new legislation be made?" another reporter shouted.

Before he could answer, screaming and yells of confusion filled the beach behind the crowd.

Turning around the crowd stared in awe as a perfectly dry crystal ship emerged from underwater, its sails billowing with the crest of two crossed tridents. Two glass statues in crystal armor stood at the front of the boat holding blue flags with one gold and one platinum trident crossing on it.

Onboard it was clear that only four people were actually on the vessel. A male and a female wearing silver-white armor and carrying crystal tridents, waved their arms in tandem, which seemed to cause the diamond stern of the boat to liquefy into water before sloping into a ramp and reforming into diamond.

Standing at attention, the male rapped his trident against the deck to get the crowd's attention. Opening his mouth to reveal sharks teeth, he shouted out to the crowd in accented English.

"I present Prince Lelakin and Princess Kusuma, here to retrieve Prince Lemah from your holding facility. Either you bring him out or we will remove him by force," Sadaka announced much too happy with the fear of the now silent crowd.

Despite the thin white porcelain masks worn by each of the four, you could still make out the unmistakable beauty of the Princess who wore very little but three lengths of green silk as a sari and some chains of gold seashells to hold it up. Her intricate hair bespoke her status as it was braided and spun with lustrous pearls, that all sat beneath an elegant emerald-set gold tiara in her golden hair. A strong green vine wrapped around a golden scepter in her hand.

As the four stepped down from the end of the slope the crowd parted to let them through.

The Chief of Police who had been standing speechless since their arrival, puffed himself up and marched towards the masked quartet.

"Listen here, I speak for the Mackay District Police Department, when I say that I will NOT be intimidated by a fish-boy like you," the Chief said sternly.

"That's perfectly alright, because I'm human," Prince Lelakin stated as he pressed an index finger to the man's forehead.

The chief dropped like a sack of now snoring potatoes.

Immediately, two officers by the door ran down the steps with their guns trained on the quartet.

"Drop the weapons, and I want your hands where I can see them," one of the Officer ordered uncertainly.

"Kusuma if you would wait here with Sadaka, Gloriana and I will retrieve your husband momentarily," Lelakin said calmly to Kusuma as he ignored the Officers.

"If you do not comply, I will shoot," the other Officer said cocking the gun. A large blur knocked both of the officers to the ground where it firmly held them.

The crowd was completely silent as it stared at the seven foot tall crystal man that was holding down the officers.

"Your Majesties, what do you wish me to do with these aggressors," Rohan asked Lelakin.

"Hold them until we return with Prince Lemah," Lelakin requested dismissively as he continued towards and then through the department doors.

The reporters exploded into questions for the Princess that was being guarded by two enormous crystal statues and the shark mouth guard.

"What are you a Princess of?" "What country are you Princess for?" "What powers do you have?"

"SILENCE," Sadaka growled loudly, causing the crowd to fall quiet, "The princess will answer who and what she chooses."

"Thank you Sadaka," Kusuma flashed a smile as the lower half of her mask dissolved from her face with a wave of her hand, revealing her full pink lips.

"Greetings, My name is Princess Kusuma, and I am a Guardian of Life. The country I hail from will be announced in due time," Kusuma answered cordially as the male population of the crowd edged closer to her. Bella sighed, being a full-fledged siren was tiresome sometimes.

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Several gun barrels were pointed at them as they entered the precinct.

"Gloriana if you would," Zane asked politely to his friend.

"Of course my Lord," Gloria answered by waving her hand in a swiping motion across her chest.

Each of the guns turned to silly putty in the hands of its owner, causing them to drop the now colorful goo in surprise.

With his index finger, Zane casually tapped the forehead of each of the people that tried to stop him causing them to fall to the floor asleep.

"Honey, I'm Home," Zane laughed as he came to a stop in front of the cell that held his rather bored looking best friend.

"Oh dear, and I forgot to make dinner," Will joked, as he stood up and embraced his brother in law. The girls considered themselves sisters just as much as the men considered themselves brothers.

The metal bars that had been separating the two Royals, disintegrated into wet concrete.

And just so the department would have a hard time cleaning up; Gloria dried it into place.

"Very creative Glo," Will praised as he flicked his hand and wrote a message on the brick wall.

It said, 'Who's the inferior species now RILEY :P' right below the picture of the officer with his pants down.

"Will, there is a fourteen year old girl back at the Island that is more mature than you," Gloria rolled her eyes with amusement at his antics. Working together Gloria and Will created presentable attire from his clothes and some metal from the bed he'd been given in the cell.

Upon exiting the building they came across no obstacles but were supremely surprised when they came outside to a crowd of men and boys fawning over Bella, as she answered their questions.

"Might I remind the crowd, that the woman you are drooling over, while gorgeous, is a princess of great power and my Life Mate. I believe in human terms that means, 'Get the bloody hell away from my WIFE!" Will glared at the men who quickly retreated to a safe distance.

"Lemah!"

Bella, continuing with the proper use of his name, ran through the gap in the crowd and flung her arms around Will's neck giving him a rather passionate kiss, that sent an envious grumble through the men in the crowd.

"Friends if we could return home now, that would be nice. I also happen to have a gorgeous wife waiting for me," Zane announced as he stepped on to the ship with the diamond guards.

Smiling the others joined him and waved at the crowd as they once again disappeared beneath the waves.

Sorry I've been too busy to update lately. It's summer break and I've been vacationing. Hope it meets your expectations if not don't flame me I have a delicate constitution. T_T jk if it's that bad I deserve it.

Soon Atlantis and all its glory will be revealed…BUT that won't be the end duh duh duh. PS reviews help me write :D I got several ideas from picking apart a bunch of different suggestions and frankensteining them into chapters XD


	16. The Tale of Twins

Thank you reviewers so much for giving me ideas and encouragement. I wouldn't have kept up with this story if it hadn't been for your guys.

You'll probably notice how the Mer are getting more and more powerful and have started acting less like they did in the show. I did this to show how they are evolving into a people with a different culture and way of life.

Review s'il vous plaît

Chapter 16

When people referred to the island that the Mers were inhabiting they no longer called it Mako. No, since the discovery of the mythical natives it was simply called the Island by the humans.

By now at least a thousand news boats were anchored on the other side of the wall, hoping for anything news worthy to pop up.

Today was one of those, news worthy days.

Usually as soon as the sun was up you could see armor clad humans (used loosely) carrying a weapon and a shield as they patrolled the perimeter of the island.

However today when the first rays of the sunrise came over the horizon, they reflected off two glass like statues that were carrying tridents.

"Where are the patrollers," one reporter shouted to one on another boat.

"I think the statues are the patrollers," the second reporter shouted back, "Didn't you hear about how they had statues that were also guards when they broke one of them out of that police department."

"That's creepy, are you really telling me that those statues are ACTUAL guards."

While the reporters' conversation continued, a ninteen year old girl named Harmony Otterman swam up to the gates and broke the surface of the placid water. She was wearing a yellow bandana around her lower face.

"Hello, I'm here about the sanctuary call," Harmony called up to the crystal guard who upon seeing her amber tail set fire to the bowl of oil hanging in the watch tower, alerting those on the island that the gate needed to be opened.

At hearing her musical voice everyone stood at rapt attention as they watched the obviously Mer girl ask for entry.

"Where do you hail from," Cleo said as she reached the top of the wall and began opening the gates.

"France, I believe I'm first gen. I'm not the only one here. Can you send someone out I have two kids with me and I told them not to come out until I could be sure they'd be safe," Harmony called right before she submerged and torpedoed towards an outcropping of rocks.

A moment later Rose's pink hair appeared at surface right outside the gates. Her arrival was quickly followed by two small heads popping up with the return of Harmony.

They would have been identical if it weren't for the fact that one was a boy and the other a girl.

"Hey there, what are your names," Rose asked as she held the little boy in her left arm.

"I'm Adrien, I'm the oldest I'm six," the little boy boasted proudly. His tiny 2 and half foot long tail was an immature orange like the girls.

"I'm Adalyn and he's only older by two minutes," the little girl corrected with a tongue poking out. Her tail was like her brothers.

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And she was, from France that is. Harmony was an orphan who had grown up in Lyon with a rather controlling Aunt.

Having been away from said Aunt for a nearly a year she decided to have her first Aunt free birthday somewhere nice so she and some friends had gone on vacation to the coast of La Cote d'Azur.

There she had gone to the Liot Saint Ferreol, an enormous uninhabited rock a few miles for Le Canadel sur Mer. They kayaked to the tiny island and anchored their boats at the base of the cliff they intended to climb.

The climb up had gone easily enough and the group of five friends had enjoyed a picnic and a day of sunbathing on the remote piece of land. At one point they lost their Frisbee to the wind and then in turn the waves.

When it came time to leave it was six o'clock and the sun was fading fast. Surreally the white circle of the full moon could be seen already on the opposite horizon lit red with the light of the sun.

Harmony had been the last to climb down the cliff to the waiting kayaks and therefore the last to use the already fraying rope that was supposed to keep her from falling twenty feet to the rocks below.

Unfortunately the tension became too much and the rope snapped sending her to what should have been her death.

All she remembered was the feeling of hands and she hit water instead of rock.

When she had woken up she was lying in a pool of water in a large cave.

Shock paralyzed her vocal cords as she stared past her amber t-tail and saw a beautiful woman breathing heavily as she lay on her side. This woman also had a blue fish like tail.

"I have been waiting for you," the woman said in accented French.

"What am I…what are you," Harmony asked calmly already knowing the truth but wanting confirmation. Mermaid.

"We are Mer," the woman said, "My name is Elodie and I prayed and prayed for one of our kind to appear."

"O-Our kind?" Harmony asked confused.

"Yes a Mer," Elodie explained as she moved her long blonde hair over her shoulder and revealed a thick shark hook piercing her upper chest. It had to be fatal as blood was seeping out in dribbles.

Elodie also went on to explain how she was dying. A week prior to Harmony's arrival Elodie had decided to tell her human mate that she was a Mer. He had gone into a rage, yelling that's she'd bewitched him and tried to kill her, succeeding in stabbing her with a large shark hook. As it was barbed she could not remove it and she was slowly bleeding to death.

She would have died without a bother from her broken heart if her motherly instinct hadn't forced her to find help.

When she fled her homicidal husband she had taken their twins, five year olds Adrien and Adalyn.

Now she had found someone to take care of her children so that she could die in peace.

As she finished her story the woman gave her last breath. Harmony was unusually calm, too calm. With a level head she closed the woman's eyes and carried her body through an underwater tunnel and laid it to rest at the bottom of a deep trench.

Completely forgetting her probably worried friends she began to search for the two children that the dying mother had mentioned.

Found them she did. A storm of epic proportions had started to rage out of nowhere churning the sea with twenty foot waves that crashed against the island that held the secret cave.

It was a frightened and desperate cry that had alerted her to their whereabouts.

There they were, two tiny children screaming in panic, pressed again a cliff as they stared at the deadly wall of water racing towards them.

"NOOOOOO," Harmony shouted in despair reaching her hand out in some vain attempt to negotiate with the wave.

The enormous wave fell flat and the water turned placid as the sky cleared.

Shoving the realization of what she had done to the back of her mind for later contemplation she sped towards the kids and wrapped them in her arms. She ignored the fact that they both had small orange tails.

"You're like mommy," the little boy cried in happy surprise.

"Are you guys Adrien and Adalyn," Harmony asked hopefully.

"Yeah, do you know our mommy, we can't find her," the little girl asked.

"Sweetheart I have some bad news," Harmony started as she swam towards a flat portion of the beach, "It's about your mother."

"D-did Mommy go to Heaven," Adrien's face scrunched up and started crying.

"M-mommy said she was gonna go to heaven soon," the little boy continued sobbing and was joined by his sister.

"I'm sorry guys, but your mom sent me to come take care of you," Harmony said.

Despite being shoved into this extremely odd situation, she felt calm inside almost as if she finally fit into the world. Plus there was no way in a frozen hell she was leaving two five year olds to fend for themselves.

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Twenty four. The island that had created seven Mers was now inhabited by twenty four of them. As such it was also drastically changed.

"Do you guys have any powers," Emma asked as the entire clan stood under the lower pavilion.

"I can make things cold," Adrien offered as he waved his tiny fist and froze the glass of orange juice he had been given. The twins giggled at some inside joke. Emma grinned; she was going to have another student.

"I can make things hot," Adalyn added waving her hand and melting the orange juice. Rikki discretely stuck her tongue out at Emma before grinning at the little girl.

"I can talk to animals," Adrien said happily. Cleo grinned, yes another herbivore.

"I can talk to plants," Adalyn added. Bella reached out and fist bumped Cleo. Yes, these kids had some definite potential.

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And so the Council convened for its first true predicament. Harmony stood before them.

"Are you willing to continue to act as their foster mother or do you want us to come up another means of taking care of them," Emma asked.

"Over the year that I've had them, they've become my children. I don't know your laws but I am fully willing to take care of them," Harmony answered confidently.

"Then I believe we are in agreement that from this day forward they are legally yours," Rikki announced looking at the others to confirm agreement. They unanimously nodded.

"Thank you so much," Harmony, "I don't have a lot of money but I have a hundred francs, would that be enough to rent a house here until I can get a job on the mainland."

The entire council smiled.

"We don't charge for the necessities. Shelter, food, water and happiness are free here. Think of us as your new very large extended family," Will assured her.

Harmony let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

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Recently a number of new features had been added to the Island.

Where a small lagoon had been located the Ice elementals had worked together to create a small piece of the Antarctic. It was permanently frozen, with ice slides leading to a large icy blue pool. A small family of eight penguins had been brought to the island as well as an artic seal. Sura the beluga had taken up a rather pampered residence in the lagoon. The Sejuk's as the Ice elementals consisted of Mikkela, Emma, Malina, Adrien, and Jayden. They were called Sej's for short.

For the Berbicara's or Bicar's for short, the Island had been stocked with hundreds of different endangered species and the council had declared it illegal to harm them in anyway. The Bicar's consisted of Cleo, Gloriana, Penny, Adrien, Malina and Zenchō.

The Fire elementals had made a volcanic Zen garden with the Earth elementals as a place to train or just have play fights. It didn't really reach the Mantle, the layer of rock beneath the platform was merely kept liquid by the sunstone Rikki had placed at the bottom of a pit filled with molten glass.

The Kebakaran's as the fire elementals were called had found that as long as an object was hot they could control it. Karan's for short, consisted of Rikki, Adalyn, Vi and the salamander demon Sanshoo whose powers were very similar to the Karan's. The Earth elementals were called Tanah's and consisted of Will, Zenchō and Yoshi.

Gloriana, Sadaka and Rose had set up a personal workshop to take and create orders in when Atlantis was revealed. They wanted to earn money by selling 'Mer made' items to the humans. Will joked they just wanted the novelty of selling things that said 'made in Atlantis'. It was named the Glorious Rose Boutique.

Sadaka just smiled whenever his mate Rose went on a tangent about demographics.

Harmony has begged for a school to teach Adrien and Adalyn in, and ended up taking Vi, Cobrir, Malina, Mikkela and anyone else who hadn't grown up with a formal education or had run away before they could finish it. Harmony and Penny of course were the teachers and as such had gotten to choose the name of the school.

The Academy of Atlantis.

Penny taught Atlantean: Magic, History, Morals, Laws and, Etiquette, while Harmony taught Human: Science, Math, English, and History. The two friends took turns teaching Art and Music.

It was also to double as a daycare center in case of future children, something all the Mated couples thought of fondly and something that was going to be necessary for the now eight month pregnant Allison.

The school even had a diamond and platinum playground next to it, provided by Bella and Gloriana. Diamond's indestructible and Platinum doesn't rust so this playground wouldn't need replacing for quite a while.

Ash had added a play pool for the twins in the center of it, with a water fall just because he could. It wasn't like if the pool was too deep they'd drown.

An infirmary was added next to the school that Penny ran, using her healing powers.

All fifty of the Sentinel statues had been summoned and placed at random intervals as statues, instructed to move only when absolutely necessary.

Working together the Council had created a large hexagonal floating platform a hundred feet in the air. Lewis' Magic kept it a float. Atop it the girls had created a lavish Roman Pavilion for the world leaders they wished to invite in two days' time from the arrival of the Queen of England.

The plan was for the rest of the islands inhabitants to go about their daily life as an example of Atlantean life, while the Council played host to the visitors.

The pavilion was only reachable to humans by way of an ornate platinum and marble elevator box that Will had created and controlled.

For the rest of the population it could be reached individually by way of the platinum rings that Lewis had enchanted to allow flight. Cleo would usually fore go the enchanted ring and fly up to the platform in her 12 foot tall blue, green and purple eagle form.

Around the pavilion at the edge of the floating platform was a line of hedges, only broken in the place where the elevator was to let out.

In the center of the pavilions roof was a glass cathedral dome to let light in.

Several round marble tables were set with finery made by the Glorious Rose workshop. Each plate was diamond with two platinum tridents crossing at the center. The utensils were also platinum with ornate carvings of mermaids on the handles. Crystal chalices similar to the plates were arranged with the rest of the set in places settings as a circle around the diamond vases that held a bouquet of live blue and white roses grown by Bella.

The platform itself being a hexagon had a Sentinel pretending to be an inert statue in each of the vertices facing inward.

The stage was set for the Reveal of Atlantis.

AN: Reviews are nice :D. It's like getting motivational candy. The more you guys review the more I want to write.


	17. The Announcement

A hundred Reviews WHOO HOOO let's see how many we can get XD

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Chapter 17

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Will and Bella 2 days till the reveal

To say that Will's parents had been surprised by the revelation that their son was not only a mythical creature but also a prince was an understatement.

"Can you IMAGINE our surprise when we turn the television on and see you being escorted out of a police precinct by 'mermaids' and magic statues and the reporters questioning a princess who was claiming to be your wife. All the while you have unconscious officers in the background with protesters screaming about you being one of the 'Mers' the world has been clamoring about, and then the bunch of you get on a magic crystal boat and disappear underwater," Will's mother ranted.

"I know you're surprised, I wasn't exactly planning on the world finding out what I was. At least not at the time," Will tried placating.

Will and Bella had snuck to his parent's house wearing non-descript human clothes. Unfortunately due to the crowd of media that staking out the front of the house the pair had to sneak around the back and over the fence to avoid the persistent reporters.

"I imagine not, but think about how we feel finding out our 23 year old son isn't even human anymore," his father remarked, "From the interview she gave I take it your lovely wife isn't human either."

"You'd be correct, Mr. Benjamin, I've been a Mermaid since I was nine," Bella spoke up, "I know this is a bit overwhelming but I sincerely hope you won't abandon your son over this."

"Of course not, we love Will no matter what, it's just…why didn't you tell us before," Mrs. Benjamin asked.

Will glanced at his wife, this hadn't been the reason they had come but he supposed that would have to wait.

"Mom, Dad I'm sorry I really am, but it wasn't just our secret and we also didn't want to drag you into something so dangerous if we didn't have to," Will said, "In fact we actually came today to tell you something else."

"What could possibly be more important than the fact that my son and my daughter-in-law aren't human," Mrs. Benjamin said.

"Well, yesterday our healer told us some news," Will started.

"Oh god your dying aren't you," Mrs. Benjamin interrupted clutching her heart, "This is too much."

Rustling noise filled the room as the front door opened and slammed.

"Those reporters are psychotic…Oh, Will…and _Bella, _I didn't realized you'd be here," Sophie said as she entered the room. She still hadn't warmed to Bella despite the fact that she'd been married to her brother for nearly three years and the recent news hadn't done anything to remedy the fact.

"Not now Soph, Will was just about to tell us some news his…healer? His healer gave him," Mr. Benjamin said dismissively after looking to the Mer couple for confirmation on the occupational phrase.

"Well isn't the little prince all high and mighty, he has his own personal 'healer'," Sophie snorted derisively.

"What is your problem," Will exploded at his older sister.

"Maybe the fact that I warned you about that witch when you were SEVENTEEN and you STILL let her bewitch you and turn you into whatever the hell it is you ar-mmmmm hmmmnnm," Sophie ended grasping at her mouth.

Saliva solidified in her mouth so that she couldn't open or even move her mouth.

"I'm not a witch I'm a Mermaid and your brother is a Merman. You are a self-absorbed bitch, who can't look past her own hang ups and insecurities to see that species doesn't matter and your brother is happy," Bella snapped angrily, tears forming in her eyes.

"Ugh, I'm already hormonal," Bella commented as she quickly solidified and disintegrated her tears.

Will hugged her and glared venomously at his sister who was still struggling with her mouth.

"Hormonal?" Mrs. Benjamin asked a hopeful smile appearing on her face.

"Yeah, that's what we wanted to tell you. Bella's pregnant," Will grinned back, his arms hugging his still sniffling wife.

Bella seemed to have calmed down and waved her hand at Sophie releasing her mouth. The redhead rubbed her sore jaw.

"Probably isn't yours," she snapped and raced out the front door before Bella could freeze her again.

Will stared at where his sister had been menacingly and made a flicking motion at the wall. In the distance you could hear a surprised yelp.

"It's going to be Mer of course," Will announced as he turned back to his parents.

"How did you know she was even pregnant, she's not even showing," Mrs. Benjamin marveled all her earlier upset had disappeared with the revelation that she was going to be a grandma. The older woman had walked around the coffee table that had been separating them and was inspecting her daughter-in-law.

"Oh well, I'm only a month along and I still have three to go. I won't show till half-way through the third quad-mester. We only know the species because our healer did a divination for us," Bella offered surprising her mother-in-law, "We find out the gender in a month."

"Quad-mester? Only three months?" the older woman asked shock written on her face.

"Yes, the more powerful the Mer and depending on parentage the gestation period is different for each Mer. Bella and I are Coastal Ocean Mer, which have the fastest gestation period and is the most common species, as well as members of the Atlantean Royal Council. There are aren't any more powerful Mers than a Royal Mer, and seeing as we are both Royal Mer the gestational period is quite a bit shorter than it would be, if say one of us was human or a non-Royal," Will explained to his shocked parents, "In fact our friends Allison and Leon are due in a in a couple weeks and so far they've had a human length gestation. Our healer says it's because they are Fin-Thief Mer that take their tails from fish and don't have a lot of excess magic in their systems to speed the formation process."

"That's fascinating, how many species are there," Mr. Benjamin ask suddenly with rapt attention. He was an avid diver and an amateur marine biologist, the fact that his own son was one of the famous Mer didn't help the matter, he thought as he pulled out a pen and pad.

"Are you sure you want to know," Will asked surprised by his reaction.

"Yes of course this is an amazing discovery," his father answered expecting one of the two to start.

"Alright," Will said as he and Bella sat back down, "There the Amazonian Shifting Mer, they can fully transform or half transform into whichever species they are in contact with at the time of their primary transformations. Our friend Cobrir can turn into a seventy foot anaconda and his wife Vi can turn into a an enormous species of Piranha."

"They can turn into animals, that would certainly make it harder to find them in the rivers," Mr. Benjamin commented.

Will shook his head amusedly, only his father would be more interested in something like this, rather than focusing on the fact that he was going to be a grandfather. His mother had gone after his sister, leaving them to his father's curiosity.

"There's the rare Aphrodite Mer, our friend Rose is one. It's not genetic and there is only one every hundred years, they come from an island in Greece and have the ability to make people fall in love or hate each other," Bella added.

"Then there is the Japanese Tanah Mer, they have the ability to control the earth that's similar to the way I control all the different minerals, except they can't work with metals or gems," Will elaborated, "Our friends Yoshi and Zenchō are that species."

"Don't forget the Swahili River Shark Mer," Bella added, "Or the Svalbardian Ice Mer."

"And the White-Tailed Beluga Mer," Will added.

"What about Gloriana she's a North American Lake Mer," Bella seemed to debate with her husband.

"Those are all the species of the ones at the Island, but according to the self-updating Classification Scroll in the library there is also, the Hawaiian Pele Mer, the Antarctic Glacier Carver, the Oceanic Fin-Thief, the Everglade Shifting Mer, the South American Coastal Black-Tip, the African Mami Wata, the Arabian Atargatis, the Gray Aleutian Seal Mer, the Incan Aquifer Dweller, the Pacific Green-Tail, and the Mid-Atlantic Trench Mer. There are more but they were either killed by humans or decided to become human to get away from persecution so there are only one or two of each of those species," Will explained.

"How is it, there are so many Mer in the world and we are only just discovering them," Mr. Benjamin asked astonished at his son's words.

"First there aren't that many, even with all the species combined we are highly endangered with less than 1,000 left in all the bodies of water in the world. Secondly, most of those species are extremely rare, in fact our friend Mikkela is the last Svalbardian Ice Mer, after her there won't be anymore. Lastly, all of them can become mostly human in appearance, if you discount the colorful hair and eyes so you wouldn't even know if you found a Mer or just a person on the beach," Bella answered.

"I was wondering about that," Mr. Benjamin commented with a pointed glance at the purple streaks and eyes in Will's hair.

"I'll have to empty my Kemala soon," Will responded absently before noticing his father's nonplussed look, "Right, you don't know what that is, a Kemala is a special stone that absorbs magic. We use them to absorb enough of our ambient magic so that we can appear human. The one I'm wearing has been around so much magic lately that is isn't absorbing enough to make me normal looking."

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Two hours later

"Trust me when I say I mean this in a good way, but your father's weird," Bella laughed as they walked hand in hand along the beach on the south side of Mako.

"I'm a Geokinetic Mer Prince, I think that he's normal in comparison," Will joked as he wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her against him. The sun was setting in the distance as they kissed.

"Will what should we name the baby," Bella asked.

"I don't know, perhaps we should follow the Atlantean tradition and name him or her after he shows some kind of defining attribute so his name describes him," Will offered as they continued walking towards their cottage.

"Sounds like a plan…If it's a girl I want her to have my power," Bella said before running up the beach away from her husband.

Will grinned and chased after her, "Not possible, especially when my powers are so cool," Will retorted playfully.

The two chased each other around in circles in a rule lacking game of tag.

"Definitely not, I control plants which are alive. You control the earth which isn't, ergo my powers are better and the baby will get them," Bella said as she jumped out from behind a bush onto her husbands back.

"Hey, that was blatant cheating," Will decided to add rules.

"I didn't realize you could cheat when there aren't any rules," Bella smiled as she hopped off his back and tried to run past him only to be caught and pulled into Will's chest.

"Then you can't say this is against the rules," Will remarked as he spun her around and kissed her passionately. Bella smirked when they broke apart.

"Why would I make a rule against something so fun," Bella returned pulling Will back into the kiss.

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Lewis and Cleo 2 days till the reveal

Cleo's favorite thing to do on a day as nice as the one she had just woken up to was to go for an early morning swim.

Rolling over she landed on something hard and warm. Lewis. Smiling as she always did when she saw his sleeping face, she rested her head on his bare chest.

"Wakey wakey," Cleo said as she traced circles into his muscular abdomen.

"ggm udjg md," he replied.

"Come on, I want to go swimming before the mist burns off," Cleo urged kissing his cheek as he slowly woke up.

"Too early," he said. Partial coherency was always a good sign.

"It's almost nine. Now if you get up I'll make you Eggs and tofu," Cleo offered.

"Bacon," he answered in a stubborn sleepy voice.

"I'll make the eggs but no way am I cooking you meat, yuck," Cleo said as she sat up and pulled the sheets off her legs so she could stand. She pulled her blue silk bath robe on as she got out of the bed.

"Making me get up early and without bacon," Lewis grumbled as he pulled the sheets back, "As a Council member I nominate that it is illegal to wake ones husband up and then tell him he can't have bacon."

"Here, here," a man's voice called from the front doorway which was door free on the Atlantean style house so that neighbors and friends could come and go as they pleased.

"Oh, be quiet you," Cleo said to Leon who was grinning widely.

"Aye, your wish is my command, your majesty," Leon smirked as he left the house and headed to his own a ways down the foot path that twisted around the island to the different houses, pavilions, beaches, and swim holes.

Cleo began cracking eggs into the skillet on the stove. It wasn't an ordinary stove, it was actually a large piece of metal with burners and an oven but instead of wires the whole thing was powered by the sunstone that powered the rest of their house.

"Sunny side up or scrambled," Cleo asked as her husband who had just wandered groggily into the kitchen wearing a black robe.

Stifling a yawn with one hand he used the other to make a stirring gesture.

"Scrambled it is," Cleo answered, used to this routine.

"Extra cheese please and hold the tofu," Lewis added as his yawn finished.

"Least I can do for withholding meat from you," she joked as he came to a stop behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder so he could watch her cook.

"I'll make lunch," Lewis offered as he pecked her cheek, then started to the fridge and removed the carton of organic orange juice Bella had supplied everyone with. Things were certainly more convenient with magic. Just grow in ten minutes, have the tree pick itself and then have your husband squeeze the oranges between two slabs of metal.

"Get a cup," Cleo instructed. Lewis struck his tongue out playfully at her. She had a way of knowing when he was doing something wrong despite the fact her back was turned to him.

"Keep your tongue in your mouth unless you want me to find a use for it," Cleo quipped suggestively still not having turned around. Lewis rolled his eyes at her, he loved how well she knew him.

"If you do that too much with your eyes they'll get stuck like that," Cleo added as she stirred the cheese in.

"I'll never figure out how you do that," Lewis said as he replaced the orange juice back into the fridge and carried the two cups to his cooking wife. Setting his on the table he handed her the other, so that while she took a sip his hands were free to roam.

"That feels nice, and I'm sure we'll find time for that sometime today but first I want to go swimming," Cleo said as she rested her head on her husband's shoulder to give him better access to her neck.

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They didn't get to swimming until after 2p.m. and that was only after Lewis ate a mysterious blob of cotton candy that flew in through the living room window.

Staying far away from the prying eyes of the reporters, Cleo and Lewis spent the last few hours of sunlight having an overpowered water fight that only ended when they almost splashed Emma and Ash with a small 10 foot tidal wave as they strolled along the beach.

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Emma and Ash

"Babe, I was thinking, at the next council meeting tonight we should start planning how we are going to access and talk to the Queen," Emma called from the bathtub she was soaking in.

No one answered.

"Ash, babe are you there," Emma called out through the cottage.

Silence.

"Next time tell your wife when your leave the house so she doesn't ta;l to herself," Emma muttered ironically, "AAH."

"Next time I will," Ash said as he popped out from thin air, "Neat huh, I found it last night in the Cavern. It only works for an hour at time then it has to recharge for ten minutes before the next use but it's cool isn't."

"Very, perhaps next time you find an ancient camouflaging device you'll use it for something other than scaring your wife," Emma smiled at him.

"Why would I do that when this way is obviously so much more fun," Ash replied leaning down to kiss his wife.

Splash.

"That's why," Emma laughed as Ash sputtered and transformed when he hit the water.

"You pulled me in," Ash stated the obvious.

"Yes I did," Emma smiled as she pulled Ash the rest of the way into the pool and kissed him, "I figured it was an appropriate response to your antics."

Ash replied with a kiss.

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Later that evening the two could be found wandering down Tanah beach. It had been named because the three earth elementals had claimed it as their playground as could be proved by the enormous boulders lying haphazardly in the sand.

Emma had to shake her head when she realized that Rose and Gloriana must have been playing with them. Several of the 'boulders' had been changed to tremendous precious gems or pure precious metals.

She let out a sigh, those two were always trying to 'beautify' the already gorgeous island.

Ash tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

A hundred feet out into the shallow lagoon, Cleo and Lewis were having a water fight. Lewis was using his magic to spray water at her.

In retaliation Cleo stuck a fist in his directions.

Uh-oh

The two were oblivious to Emma and Ash, and as such didn't realize that the wave that had just missed Lewis was on a collision course for the two on the beach.

By instinct the couple on the beach held their hands up and the wave subsequently froze, turned to slush and then went flying back at the two currently tailed Mer in the water who were smacked in the face with the icy slush before they could react.

Emma and Ash continued their stroll, ignoring the Atlantean curses the two in the water were shouting at them.

Sometimes it was nice to act childish.

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Rikki and Zane

As a teen, Zane had always viewed himself as independent and superior to everyone around him. So it was no surprise that for the first couple of months, after the transformation that changed his seven closest friend and not him that he was bit cynical about the whole situation.

Mostly his bitterness was ignored by the group but all involved noticed when the abrasive attitude completely evaporated the night they had claimed the throne and onward.

It like flicking a light switch.

You know the light has been turned on and the darkness is gone but you don't mention the fact that there has been a change. Who are you to complain that it's not dark anymore.

And his attitude only seemed to improve as more and more Mer appeared on the Island. He wasn't sarcastic or mean like he had been famous for as a teen, instead he was kind, compassionate and protective of all involved.

It could be speculated that his inferiority complex disappeared when he became a king because he was no longer inferior.

Seemingly, the fact that he was the only human on the Island only bolstered his confidence.

Of course he had always enjoyed bungee jumping when it had been with stretch cords, so it really shouldn't surprise her that Zane took every chance he could to use the flight bands Lewis had devised.

They worked by feeding off the excess magic of the person using them. Basically the more powerful you were magic wise, then the higher, faster and longer you could fly.

All of the Mer, including the children, were able to use the bands to make the jump to the platform floating over the volcano.

However, that 200 foot jump seemed to be the best most of the less powerful Mer could manage.

All of them could bounce around 30 feet in the air all they wanted without problem or just float at a certain height, but it was only the Royal council that seemed to have the ability to full out, no holds bar fly.

And that was what Zane enjoyed the most.

The fact that even though he was human, he had enough magic in his body to allow him to soar through the air like Superman.

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"Zane be careful where you're flying," Rikki warned as her husband once again disappeared into the clouds.

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"This is breaking news from the Media line as Mer Island. It appears that there are two, flying, yes I said flying, people up in the clouds above us. We have sent a small one person plane to investigate. More in a minute!"

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"Zane if you're not careful you're going to hit a bird or something," Rikki called out as she floated stationary in the clear space beneath the cloud. If she went into the cloud the moisture would transform her. She'd still be able to fly but the jokes Zane would make about flying fish weren't worth it.

Zane dropped out of the cloud in front of her.

"Oh lighten up, ever since we were declared an independent nation planes haven't flown over. We have nothing to worry about," Zane reassured.

Rikki had stopped listening to Zane as a small yellow plane had just come out of the cloud behind him and if it wasn't stopped its propeller would make hamburger out of them.

With a quick clench of her fist, steam rose from the plane's engine causing it to stall out and begin a steep descent…right at the Island.

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Gloriana had reacted on instinct. I mean if a plummeting plane was about to crash right into you would you think of a happy place.

Was it really her fault that her happy place had candy in it and that she had inadvertently turned the plane into a mass of strawberry cotton candy right as it hit the ground.

Luckily, Rikki had the fore thought to grab the now trembling pilot from the plane before it fell and was now gently landing him on the beach next to the sugary remains of his vehicle.

"AAAAAAAAH," he screamed. Just as he had started screaming from the moment his plane had stalled.

"Oi, shut up, do you need a healer or are you ready to go back to the reporters," Rikki kicked his foot.

"H-healer?" the pilot asked confused.

"Yes, are you hurt?" Zane asked as he landed gracefully next the man, "Don't worry I'm human…more or less."

The man stared at him.

"Gloria go get Penny just in case he has a head injury," Rikki asked the American Mer who had a handful of pink confectionary in her hand.

"Sure thing, man if I had known I could make candy before…Oh well at least now I can add a 'Mer Made' food section to the boutique," Gloriana said happily as she dragged her fiancée Jayden towards the infirmary to fetch Penny.

Not five minutes later did Penny pop up out of a hole in the ground ten feet away.

"I heard you have a human that might be hurt," she asked curiously as she pulled herself out of the tunnel entrance and allowed Rikki to dry her off.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the reporters sent him. He almost hit Zane and I when we were flying and I had to ground him," Rikki explained.

"That makes sense but why are there giants hills of cotton candy everywhere," Penny asked as she broke off a piece and ate it.

"The plane scared Gloriana," Zane answered pulling of a fluffy chunk for himself, "want some?" he asked the shaking pilot.

"He's not very smart is he?" Adalyn said as she and her brother ran at the cotton candy with intent. Harmony wasn't ten feet behind them.

"I swear they have sugar radar," Harmony sighed, "If they didn't have a Mer metabolism I wouldn't let them have it, but it's not like they can get MORE hyper."

The wispy candy seemed to disappear by the square foot as the children attacked it.

"Well as least it's not going to waste," Rikki said as she gave Zane a disapproving look. He was holding Adrien by the seat of his pants as he attempted to hoard a large patch of the confection to himself.

Unfortunately, Adalyn was sneaking up from behind and removed a chunk that was almost as big as herself.

When Zane dropped the boy to chase the girl, the boy removed a chunk of greater size and began munching his way through it."

A chunk floated mysteriously in the air before flying away towards the center of the Island on its own accord. Cleo's incredulous voice could be heard across the Island, most likely she was scolding her husband for summoning the candy.

"Alrighty, you don't seem injured so how about I send you back to your bosses now," Rikki said after getting the go ahead from Penny.

Slipping a bandana around her face she grabbed the man and shot off towards the boats, returning a few minutes later without him.

That evening on the community big screen in the pavilion, everyone laughed over how the pilot had told the reporters that 'Those crazy things crashed my plane and ate it'.

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Adalyn and Adrien 2 days till reveal

"I wonder if Gloria can make ice cream," Adrien asked as he licked his red sugar coated fingers.

"I wonder if she can make worms into REAL gummy worms," Adalyn stuffed another puff of the pink cotton into her mouth.

"That's gross," the herbivore gave a look of disgusted horror.

"I wonder how I'm going to get you two clean," Harmony muttered to herself as they walked towards the cottage they lived in.

Wham, splash, gurgle.

"HEY"

"WHAAA"

"There they're clean," Sadaka announced as he dropped the water tornado that had scrubbed the mess off the children. The shark Mer seemed to be trying to hold in his laughter.

"Thank you Daka," Harmony chuckled as she picked up the now clean and dry twins and put them on opposite hips.

"Any time. I do dry cleaning as well," Sadaka joked as he hopped off the random 12 foot tall sapphire boulder that had been left in Rose's practice wake. His English had definitely improved in the year he had spent on the Island.

"Hey, babe can you come here a moment," Rose called from further down the path in the jungle.

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Friends

"I wanted to add something on this part of the path to make it more interesting. The only problem is I don't know what to put here," Rose mused as she stood next to her Mate.

Sadaka seemed to ponder this for a moment before he pulled up both arms in an undulating movement.

Water shot out of the nearest water tunnel entrance and began separating into seven slabs of water, each one a larger size and thickness than the last.

"Make each one a different colored of the rainbow," Sadaka instructed.

Smiling widely as she realized what he was planning, Rose concentrated and solidified each section of water into a different color gem. Ruby, Amber, Topaz, Emerald, Sapphire, and Dark Amethyst.

"Hold it up for a moment," Sadaka said as he lost control of the material once it was no longer water, "We'll need a Tanah for the next bit."

"Sure just hurry, I'm not Gloriana and can't hold it up too long," Rose said struggling to maintain her control. She wasn't as powerful or as experienced as Gloriana, but hopefully with the older Transmuters help one day she'd get there.

Zenchō, Yoshi and Sadaka came back up the path a minute later.

"Daka said you needed a Tanah," Zenchō grinned rubbing his hands together with anticipation.

"Yeah, we're going to make a giant Xylophone and need help making the holes for the sound to echo in," Rose answered.

"Easy enough," Yoshi said and he pounded a foot into the ground and made a punching movement with his fist. The soft jungle earth compacted down and seven different sized holes made a line in the soil.

Concentrating with all her strength Rose turned the soft soil into hard granite so it would echo better before she lowered the gem panels onto their respective holes.

Each panel was cinched in place by metal prongs that Rose turned from Sadaka's water.

"It's perfect," Rose smiled at the end product. From edge to edge the previously bare marble path was covered for a good 16 foot length with the mammoth multi-colored musical instrument.

"I call first," Zenchō yelled as he ran at the panels laughing. As he hopped from panel to panel a scale rang out. Daa, Da, Doo, Do, Dee, De, Di, Diii.

Laughing, the four of them spent the next ten minutes playing on the panels that made beautiful ringing music as even the lightest foot step.

"Let's make a whole orchestra," Rose laughed as she cartwheeled down the glittering path.

And so they did, at the end of the day the three friends had turned a section of the foot path into a hundred foot long walk way, filled with enormous musical instruments.

A large French Horn with a human sizes mouth piece attached to a cone big enough to all of them to sit in, rows of curtains of diamond chimes, a wall of harp strings, and giant platinum gem encrusted trampoline bongo drums off to the side.

Malina and Mikkela came jogging up the path with looks of amusement on their faces as they ran through the chimes, sending a lite myriad of melody through the air.

"What is all this," Lina asked as she bounced on the trampoline filling the air with the sound of drums.

"We're still choosing a name," Rose answered as she joined Ela who was plucking the strings of the harp experimentally, "Either Melody Avenue or Symphony Street."

"I'm biased to the letter M," Mikkela answered with a smile.

"Me too," Malina chipped in from the gonging drums.

"I like the letter S," Sadaka added.

"Two against one," Lina stuck her tongue out playfully.

"I'm older than you," he retorted to Lina as he joined her on the drums.

"And I'm older than you," Mikkela added as she jumped onto the drums with them.

"Water, Fire, Ice to choose," Ela offered holding a clenched fist in her open palm.

"Best two out of three," Sadaka agreed.

"Water, Fire, Ice, shoot."

Ela held her hand in a fist to symbolize ice.

"Dammit," she said as Sadaka wiggled his fingers in the symbol for fire.

Fire beats Ice

Ice beats Water

Water beats Fire

Your basic Mer version of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

"Water, Fire, Ice, shoot."

"Ha ha," Sadaka laughed triumphantly, "Water beats Fire."

"Melody Way it is," Rose agreed and was rewarded with the astonished face of her mate.

She was pointing to the sign she had been working on. The sign that said Melody Way, that she had just hung on the previously empty street sign.

"But I won," he pouted.

"Yes and that's nice but Symphony Street is a mouthful and not nearly as pretty."

"She's your mate buddy," Zenchō yelled to them as he and Yoshi were doing the Can Can on the Xylophone.

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Leon and Alison

"The baby is due in two weeks, we need a name," Alison said as she rested her heavily pregnant body in the lounging pool.

"I haven't the slightest clue," Leon told her, "How about we ask the others for ideas."

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Vi and Sanshoo

The Kebakaran and the Inu-salamander had struck up a friendship over their similar powers.

So while her husband slept in Vi was playing a game of Dodge Lava with the currently human shaped demon at the Magma court.

"Is that the best you got," San shouted tossing a bubbling ball of the molten rock at her, which she quickly tossed back at him.

"No this is," Vi flipped out of the way of the returning ball and sent a wall of quarter sized lava globs at the salamander.

He was only able to catch half of them as they came at him and immediately dropped them as the fiery liquid rock slapped his legs. Thankfully his powers gave him resistance that made it no different than being hit with warm water balloons.

Laughing he attempted to splash her back but she dogged and jumped into a water tunnel yelling as she went, "Catch me if you can."

Rolling his eyes her two hundred year old best friend morphed back into his natural form and chased after her.

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AN: sorry about the wait and idea's for baby names are much appreciated. :D.

PS. I'm thinking of extending this story and therefore will need more Mers use the template in Chapter 7 and stick your Mermaid in a review. Remember they can't be more powerful than the Royals and they have to be one of the species mentioned in the chapter above. If there is a specific tail color you chose Fin-Thief because they have whatever color tail of the fish they changed with. They are also the least powerful of the Mer species unless they were turned in the Irish pool or the Mako pool and unless you have a REALLY good Mer I won't let your Mer change in those pools.

:D Review please it makes we write more.


	18. The Queen's Ball

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Chapter 18

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Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of the United Kingdom was intrigued to say the least. For the last year she had been following the developments of the 'Mermaid Colony' off the coast of one of her common wealth realms. Like most children she had dreamed of such things being possible but alas she had learned as she grew up that magic was only make believe. It was really too bad, she had always like mermaids.

At the present she was inside of a bullet proof car, making her way towards the welcoming ball that was to take place in her honor.

As the car pulled to a stop in front of the Ballroom entrance she couldn't shake off the feeling that something important was about to happen.

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Nate Cunningham had been released from the Canberra hospital the previous evening after having recovered from the newly discovered 'Mer Venom'.

He was mad to say the least.

The worst part was that his friend Zane that he had known since Kindegarten was probably one of them as he not only wore a 'moonstone' but he could have sworn that it was Zane masquerading at 'Prince Lelakin' in the recording he had seen of the 'Royal Breakout' as it had been dubbed by the Media.

Furthering his suspicions, the employees at Rikki's café had told him that Zane hadn't even visited the original restaurant since the Mers had been discovered there the week before.

No one made a fool of Nate Cunningham and got away with it.

He didn't care which one he got but he was going to catch one of the fish people and get back his reputation.

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Damn.

The Queen's bodyguards seemed to be on high alert.

Was it because they had an inkling of what the Mers had planned or perhaps this was normal precautions. Either way, it was going to be hard to reach to target.

"Ndari, this is Sadaka I'm in position. Where are you entering," Sadaka asked through the modified Kemala-powered ear piece, that Lewis had made for the group.

"Roger that, Lemah, Gloriana, Nuri, Cahaya and I are entering at the south west wall. Let's make this entrance grand my friend," Emma replied.

The plan was to make as grand an entrance as possible as a show of strength. Atlantis was going to be perceived as the strong and independent nation that it had been over a thousand years ago.

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The call was stronger than ever and yet he still couldn't escape his crystal prison.

For the last thousand years he had been hidden deep beneath the earth in the remnants of the Atlantean strong hold that had devolved into the cannibalistic Aztecs.

Why had he believed her?

Why hadn't he disobeyed and stayed with his people. He could have saved them.

No that was just survivor's guilt.

He needed to put that thought to the back of his head. For now he had to focus.

Focus on the fact that the crystal walls of his stasis chamber had started cracking open little by little over the last few years.

It had all started with the unmistakable sound of the Atlantean Herald.

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Nate was excited to say the least. His father, an influential business CEO had gotten two invitations to the Queen's Welcoming ball that night.

Normally his father would have left him home and taken another one of his floozy dates, but this time his father had asked him to come along.

Okay, Nate might have begged but in the end it had the same results.

Nate Cunningham was going to meet the Queen and warn her about the menace that was the Island of Mers.

Taking a deep breath and adjusting his tuxedo, he handed the man at the door his invitation and walked towards his rightly earned fame.

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They were dressed to the nines as was to be expected of the entourage of the Atlantean Royal Council on its debut.

Each one wore the colors of their station as well as their Medallions.

Emma wore a silvery white sheer strapless dress; beneath the see through material, were two strips of white cloth covering her more intimate places. In her hand was a long crystal staff with a mother of pearl crescent moon atop it.

Cleo wore a turquoise and blue Indian style Sari with purple embroidery. Her whale bone sword was strapped to her back.

Rikki had on what could only be described as strips of gold and red cloth. Making an X, the two lengths of gold fabric only covered her breasts leaving the rest of the skin on her torso exposed. Her lower half was concealed by a short tight Egyptian style red skirt that left her bare legs exposed.

Will, who normally didn't wear his ceremonial clothes even on the island had conceded the need and was wearing a thin cage of intricately twisted metal as a skin tight cage over his bare chest. His pants consisted of pliable matte white gold that moved only by the ambient earth magic that ghosted over his skin. A thick steel Roman broad sword hung at his belt, Will's focus was his pride and joy.

Gloriana wore a simple black female battle suit. Its metal armor covered every inch of her body like matte black liquid. It was impenetrable but moved like cotton. Her face didn't even show as it was also covered. The only way she could see was by the see through charm Lewis had applied to the eye area of the face hood. Her only weapons were her hands as she had been trained in Atlantean Hand to Hand combat.

Sadaka also wore the male version of the outfit.

"Are you ready guys," Rikki asked as she clenched her razor sharp sun staff.

"Ready," they answered in unison.

Will raised his hand and began opening the brick wall in front of them.

Cleo jumped into action and sprayed water at the opening which Rikki immediately turned to steam to cover their entrance.

Sadaka and Gloriana jumped through the opening first to make sure their leaders weren't in danger.

Stepping inside the mist filled room Will closed the wall seamlessly behind the group.

Emma clenched her fist at the room and the mist turned to snow which began gently falling around the room.

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Nate Cunningham could see the Queen but couldn't reach her as not only was there a line of idiots in front of him waiting to shake her hand; there were also six enormous body guards surveying the crowds for threats.

Apparently they knew who he was and weren't allowing him anywhere near the Queen.

Suddenly there was a rumbling noise and a blast of hot air. Out of nowhere the room filled with opaque mist that obscured any possible view of the wall that the rumbling had come from.

Then just as fast as it had arrive the mist turned cold and delicate snowflakes started falling taking the mist with them.

He couldn't believe it where the mist had appeared from were six exotically dressed and ethereally beautiful people. Two of them wore full body suits.

The worst part was, he recognized four of them as well as the glowing stones worn proudly around their necks. The other two a male and female were unidentifiable as they wore black full body suits.

His friends or so he had thought. Emma, Will, Rikki and Cleo. He had known about Will but…no he should have realized that as close as that group was they would share everything, including species.

But…that meant that his friend Zane but be one especially if his precious wife was one. Yeah she must have tricked him or put a spell on him.

It didn't matter. They may have betrayed him, but they weren't going to get away with this. Especially not Rikki Chadwick.

"They're Mers," he shouted loudly as she launched himself through the crowd at Rikki, "They're going to kill the Queen."

Thud.

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The room had cleared of ice with a wave of Ndari's hand. Hopefully this would go according to plan.

In the corner of her eye she saw the annoyance that was the currently red faced Nate Cunningham as he cut through the crowd towards Cahaya. Glancing at Gloriana she nodded in Nate's direction. Gloriana nodded back.

"They're Mers," Nate shouted as he threw himself the last few feet at Cahaya, "They're going to kill the Queen."

Ndari watched with a raised eyebrow as Gloriana didn't even leave her post. She merely clenched her hand and the material on the bottom of Nate's shoes turned to quick dry superglue.

Thud. He landed face first.

"We are not here to kill anyone," Cahaya spoke up, "We wish to speak to the Queen. Ruler to Ruler."

The crowd was silent for a moment.

"Why, may I ask? Would I give audience to a group of children that just broke into my ball in a rather spectacular fashion," Elizabeth the II asked as she stood up from her chair at the high table. She looked more curious than angry.

"We are hardly children, allow us to introduce ourselves," Ndari said.

"I am Princess Ndari, Guardian of the Moon."

"I am Prince Lemah, Guardian of the Earth."

"I am Princess Nuri, Guardian of Life."

"I am Princess Cahaya, Guardian of the Sun."

"We are here tonight as delegates from the Atlantean Royal Council," Ndari explained.

The room exploded in whispered and gasps.

"Atlantean you say," the Queen replied, "If this is a hoax, I assure you the punishment will not be light," the Queen spoke.

Ndari nodded at the black suited partners.

Before they could take one step towards the Queen all six of her body guards raised their guns at the two.

"Why are you guards attempting to approach me," the Queen asked suspicion filling her voice.

"Our guards Gloriana and Sadaka are going to prove we aren't an elaborate hoax," Nuri answered, "If you would continue please my friends."

"Of course your majesty," the two answered in unison.

"I warn you if they get any closer my men will shoot," the Queen warned.

"They aren't going to hurt you, besides your bullets can't penetrate Atlantean armor and you wouldn't want you to hurt anyone in the crowd," Lemah warned once again he motioned for the two to begin.

"Is that a threat….Oh my,"

Sadaka was moving through the kata that was the Moon Water Dance. All the water in the room lefts its containers and soared into the air making ornate swirls and patterns. Finally the water formed an exact replica of Queen Elizabeth the Second. Holding his position he nodded at Gloriana who brought both of her hands up and clenched.

The water turned to a perfect platinum likeness of the Queen.

"Your majesty a gift," Cahaya motioned to the statue which was now holding a gilded piece of paper.

Elizabeth waved her guards away as she stared enraptured at the statue, "Incredible, so the story that magic fish people were living on this coast is true."

"Yes but we prefer to be called Mer. Just like your people prefer human or man instead of mundane two leggers," Lemah grinned.

"What material is this?" Elizabeth asked as she touched the cool metal of the statue. The crowd had cleared a space for her so that her guards could follow.

"Pure platinum, it is the metal of preference among our people," Ndari replied stepping up to the Queen.

"Platinum, this statue must be worth millions," the Queen said quietly.

"A little over seven million yes, but at the moment the invitations it holds is more important," Ndari obliged pointing to the piece of paper.

Elizabeth tentatively grasped the paper and removed it from her metal duplicates hand.

"Read it aloud we will give more to certain people in the crowd anyway," Nuri encouraged.

Opening the folded card she began reading aloud.

"To Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, Queen of England and the Commonwealth. You are cordially invited to attend the debut of the Atlantean Nation in two weeks' time.

A tour of the island as well as a dinner to officially announce our independence will take place on this day.

Yours,

Atlantean Royal Council, the ruling body of the sovereign nation of Atlantis and the Oceans."

"This is outrageous, these blasphemous demons are proof that the white society is overstepping its boundaries once again. Personally I don't believe in 'Mermaids', this is probably some American experiment gone wrong," An African delegate bellowed angrily.

Sadaka growled behind his mask. With a smooth motion he pulled his hood back revealing himself.

"You say that white society is overstepping its boundaries. Perhaps instead of focusing on skin color you will realize that we aren't demons. Atlantis is about racial equality. Ethnicity has no meaning with our people, for we are all Atlantean. Just as you are all of the human," Sadaka said with his accented English.

"If you are equal, then why are you a guard and the white men are the kings and queens," the delegate retorted smugly.

"The Kings and Queens you speak of are my friends, they have their positions because they are fair and kind and as such the Fates decided to give the Powers of Destiny to them," Sadaka answered, "I owe them my life and my happiness. Because of them I have a wife, a family, friends and I live in paradise. Please my friend, let go of your anger and open your eyes to the truth."

Sadaka took an invitation out of Ndari's hand and handed it to the delegate.

"Please come to our home and learn for yourself the truth of our people," Sadaka asked.

One by one the key delegates from around the world were given invitations to the Island.

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Crack.

Atlantis had returned.

He could feel in his bones as it happened. The crystal that contained him in the stasis chamber was finally gone and he was free.

The herald's call was louder than ever.

High Royal Advisor, Corundum 'Light' Verneuil had returned, and as he had vowed all those centuries ago he would devote his life to Atlantis and its Royalty.

He pushed the loss of his people to the back of his mind as he swam from the Iguazo River where he had been held for the last millennia towards a promise of new life.

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Mers around the world heard the second call, those who had doubts before knew that this was it.

Atlantis was back. Home had returned.

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Chapter done. Thank you Watcher Complex for your submission.

Note: Since the last chapter I have gotten 6 review submission and 28 people have PMed me with several page long submissions of Mermaids and Merman. I cannot choose all of them and I will only choose the ones that follow the rules.

Rules

Name must either mean something or be regionally acceptable by the people of the place your Mer comes from

Species: you must choose a species that has been mentioned already in the story. Reminder Fin thief Mer can have any tail they want but it must belong to a fish. Not a mammal, or a reptile, but a fish.

Origin: if it's too specific then it's incredibly hard for as the author to fit into the story in a sense-making, readable story. I don't need 3 pages worth of back story, the background is my job as the writer.

You know who you are.

No submission can be more powerful than the Royal's, they are the most powerful Mers.

Here are the categories you may choose from.

Elementals:

Aliran's – Air and Water

Cleo

Sadaka

Kebakaran's – Fire and anything hot

Rikki

Adalyn

Sanshoo

Mare de Vida

Tanah – Earth

Will (only will can control metal along with the other parts of earth)

Yoshi

Zenchō

Sejuk's – Ice and blizzards

Emma

Adrien

Malina

Jayden

Mikkela

Keras – water hardening/gelidkinesis

Bella

Other Main powers:

Transmuter – change any material to another material

Gloriana

Rose

Aphrodite's Will – No vacancies

Rose

Berbicara – Speaks to animals

Cleo

Gloriana

Penny

Zenchō

Malina

Adrien

Kelopak – Plants talker and controller

Adalyn

Bella

Dukun – Magic user

Lewis

Penny (not strong only has a few spells)

Mare de Vida (compulsion, love spells and wishes only)

Karar – calmer

Harmony

Minor powers that are individual to the person:

Venom – Leon

Strength – Allison

Sanshoo – demonic transformation

Malina – story telling

Minor powers that any Mer can have alongside one of the Main powers listed above:

Siren – ability to lure men by singing – females only

Affinity with an sea animals – unisex

Atlantean Speak – speak underwater – unisex

Turn into Mer – all mer

Hopefully this clears some stuff up.

Please review or if you wish PM me with any question, either about the story or a character :D


	19. The Tale of the Owl and the Light

A/N: Guest - you gave me Lyra Robinson from Georgia and when I was messaged by the creator of another Mer submission I was struck by an idea. I am unable to PM you because you reviewed anonymously, so I hope this chapter meets your expectations as well as Watchercomplex's.

Thank you for your support as I write this story

Also to Mayapapaya: Elliot and Kim will not become Mer. The Mer gene is highly fickle and Kim's selfish human temperament and superficiality are signs that the Mer gene did not form correctly in her making it impossible for her or her descendant's to be Mer. I didn't mention it in the story but Elliot could have become one if he wanted but he chose to be human instead.

Review and Submit please I may choose you :D

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Chapter 19

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The music of the Atlantean Herald wasn't loud.

In fact it was so subtle that unless you were listening for it none of the Mer on or near the island, were able to distinguish the calming song from the natural sounds of the tranquil island.

However, thousands of miles away in the Okefenokee swamp in south Georgia of the U.S. of A, a seventeen year old girl name Lyra Robinson heard the melodious promise of sanctuary as if it were an orchestra playing in her ear.

The persistent music grew clearer as she flew south toward the noise.

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Three years ago

"Lyra Robinson, I am telling you for the last time, put down that damn phone and finish washing the boat. We have customers coming in an hour. Boat #5 had better be cleaned, dried and ready for inspection in half an hour. Do you hear me young lady?"

"Yeah Dad whatever," Lyra answered as she stuffed her outdated neon green flip phone into her pocket. Damn, one of the fake blue rhinestones she had bedazzled the phone with had fallen off when she had attempted to shove the phone into the tiny pocket of her skinny jeans.

Just another thing on her never ending to do list.

50 miles away a twisting mass of black clouds roiled with rain and lightning as it sped towards the unsuspecting Eco-Tour Co. It wasn't enough to be named but it would be enough to forever change the life of the fifteen year old Lyra Robinson.

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1000 years ago

"Your majesty, Kusuma, I am begging you as your friend not your Advisor, allow me to stay I can do more good here with our people than as an errand boy. We are at war, please princess reconsider what you are asking of me," Corundum begged the blonde haired green eyed beauty as they stood at the palace balcony looking over the section of the city that had been burned by the invading Phoenicians.

"Light, as your princess, you will do as I say, Lemah and the others are perfectly able to assist me in defending the city. Now go, take the box to the Alrana, and give it to my cousin Kariala. Do not open it for any reason it is for her eyes only. GO," Kusuma ordered, her green eyes flashing with severity.

Light hesitated for a moment before nodding with resignation. He took the simple metal box from his friend and turned to leave. As he left the room he nodded to the entering Lemah, whose purple eyes glanced curiously at the box in his hands as the door shut.

"Love I am sorry, the ash from volcano is too much. As long as the human enchanters hold the curse in place there is nothing we can do. Even Sihir could not remove the anathema from the soot. There is nothing we can do unless…" Lemah ended quietly.

"That is a last resort, I have already sent Light with a message to Kariala. If all else fails Atlantis WILL survive. I vow my soul to this."

"As do I."

"My only regret is that the baby was not born before this calamity. I can feel in my bones that regardless of whether our people endure, we will not survive it."

"Then what I suggest is not a last resort. Instead it will be a measure of security to ensure that Atlantis survives."

"Do you really think that Luru will allow it," Kusuma asked as she rested her hand thoughtfully on her stomach. Perhaps there was hope after all.

"He already hid the treasury away, besides Luru is a reasonabl…"

The door to the balcony burst open admitting a stricken guard, the soot covered most of the diamond sentinels face.

"Your majesties, Prince Luru is dead. I tried to save him but he was trapped in a cloud of the ash and suffocated before I could free him."

"No."

"It is decided then," Kusuma announced dejectedly.

"Agreed," Lemah replied his eyes closed in calm anger, "Rohan, gather the Council."

As soon as the door closed Lemah turned and wrapped his arms around his pregnant wife, whose tears were flowing freely down her face.

"If it had been a girl I would have named her Ivy," Kusuma said as watery green eyes stared into distraught purple.

"Ivy is a beautiful name."

The couple looked up as the five other members of the Council filed solemnly into the room. There was no misunderstanding as to what was to happen. Even Lelakin was there, that was good he could fill Luru's place in the ritual.

"I wish it didn't have to come to this," Ndari sobbed as she hugged her husband Semasan tightly and was in turned wrapped in his arms.

"Neither do I, but if we cannot save our beloved city now, then we will wait until such a time that humans can no longer defile the magic we gifted them," Cahaya said as she stood next to Lelakin. They loved each other, however due to Atlantean law she had not been allowed to marry a human commoner being a royal herself.

"Then it is agreed, no matter how long we have to wait, our souls shall reawaken and Atlantis shall live in peace once again," Sihir said as he kissed his wife Nuri passionately on the lips before detaching and beginning the chants of the ritual.

The eight of them stood in a circle holding hands, chanting aloud their wishes for a future in a voluminous plea to the universe.

That night they gave their souls to the darkness of limbo in hopes that one day they would return to the mortal realm and revive their people.

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Light was unaware that the members of Council lay dead in the ritual chamber, as he exited the travel portal that deposited him somewhere in the bowels of the Aztec empire.

"Corundum, I was expecting Kusuma," Kariala said surprised. She had been waiting for the arrival of the Council.

"Atlantis had been attacked, the city is in ruins, most are dead. Kusuma sent me here and told me to give this to you."

Gingerly, Kari took the simple metal box from Light's nervous hands and proceeded to open it.

The city she ruled over, Alrana, was also under attack. The native humans had fallen under the power of some priest who lied to them of gods and demons. Alrana was in ruins its self as were many other Atlantean colonies.

A rich human emperor named N'te Cun Ing had hire the priest that used the very same magic given to his great grandfather to spread discourse about Mers the world over. Which resulted in the siege of every major Atlantean citadel around the world.

Somehow N'te had found a way to bastardize the nature magic so that he could conjure toxic volcanic ash that did not respond to any of the Tanah's magic. Already, over two thousand Mer around the world had succumbed to the poisonous substance.

She had hoped that the Council would come and help restore the city that had been over run and destroyed by the cannibalistic natives.

The worst part was that the good humans that had not fallen under N'te control had been promptly murdered during the invasion, Mer and human alike.

Opening the box she pulled a small quarts circle out of the box.

_If you are reading this then Atlantis has fallen. Light is the key to saving us all, crush the stone. By order of the Council._

Looking up she realized that it perfectly matched the necklace around Lights neck.

"I'm sorry Light but it's the only way."

"What's the only waayyyyyy…"

She used her Tanah abilities to pulverize the quarts and threw the dust at him.

Before her eyes his clear Kemala glowed extra bright and the powder took on a life of its own. It began expanding and thickening around him until solid crystal encased his entire body.

The door to the room burst open to reveal at least twenty bloody splattered natives.

"The Great N'te Cun Ing orders your presence, if you don't obey we have been ordered to enjoy ourselves then kill you," the leader threatened suggestively.

Fear and disgust filled the pit of her stomach.

"I am an Atlantean princess, I do not take orders and I will keep my dignity till the breath leaves my body."

With that she lifted her hands it a striking motion at the ceiling. The room began shaking violently as the smooth walls gave way to falling rocks.

Water gushed into the room, as the aquifer above the chamber broke and began flooding the room.

Snarling in anger, the Leader of N'te's men raised his arm and loosed the pointed spear he had been carrying.

The ceiling collapsed burying all twenty of them men, right as the spear pierced Kariala's heart. For days after their deaths Corundum stared unmoving out the walls of his prison as the current of the underground river slowly diluted the life blood of the Last Atlantean Ruler.

For the next thousand years he would be forced to stare into darkness and remember the pain of losing his people. His hands never let go of the artifact that Kusuma had given him along with the silver box. The soul finder being in his position meant that they had gone through with the Ritual.

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Three years ago

Spick and Span her father had announced as he inspected the boat he had tasked his teenage daughter with washing.

It wasn't a hard task, she merely had to take a hose to the mud caked floor of the Air boat that the Hartman family had reserved for the day.

"Alrighty then, Lyra if you would grab the flood lights then I'll go tell the Hartman's that it's time to head out for the evening tour."

Lyra smiled at her father, he could be a bit annoying at times but it was always fun to go on a gator gig at night with him and see all the red eyes dotting the swamp.

Twenty minutes later Lyra and her father were taking the Hartman's, which consisted of John the husband, Julie the wife and, Joy and Jack the son and daughter, down one of the darker water ways.

Julie was clinging to her husband as six different sets of red eyes reflected back at them from the surface of the water.

"The American Alligator is recognizable by its rounded snout and almost black green coloration," Lyra explained as she shined the light into the water looking for a set of red reflections a bit closer to the boat, "They can get up to 14 feet in length and grow about a foot a year in the first years of life."

Usually if they could get a gator close to the boat the family on the tour would tip better at the end.

"It's not breeding season, but perhaps if I make an infant distress noise one of the alligators will come a bit closer so you can see it," her father held a closed fist to his lips and began making a high pitching grunting, clicking noise that sounded uncannily like a baby gator.

The sun set early in the swamp as black clouds suddenly swarmed the sky and blacked out any late evening light.

"Damn, I'm sorry folks but the weather doesn't look good we'll have to head in and because your tour was cut short we will give you a full refund."

After a moments of questions between the Hartman adults and her father the boat turned and headed down the water way back to the marina.

Thud.

They had been going 30 miles an hour when suddenly a log bobbed up in their path forcing them to run it over. Lyra winced as she heard the crack of the fan blades slice into the obstruction.

Her dad cut the engine and spun the boat around.

"Did you see what it was," her dad asked the occupants.

"I'm not sure but it was enormous."

"Lyra shine the floodlight on it, if it is a manatee or something we have to call it in," her dad asked as the six people in the boat stared into the near pitch blackness looking for the log or whatever it was they had hit.

Red eyes.

Actual Red EYES.

Not just reflections that were red.

Actual giant red irises.

OH god.

Sitting in the water with an almost…amused look was an ENORMOUS alligator.

Its hide was pitch black and blended with the black water. The only way she could tell its size was by the length of its five foot head which held tennis ball sized vivid red eyes.

It didn't seem injured in the slightest. If anything it almost seemed like it was laughing, that is until its unnerving eyes landed on Lyra.

The imperceptible sharp white grin disappeared as the water rolled over its submerging head.

"T-that thing had to be nearly 19 feet long," Jack gasped as his eight year old sister clung fearfully to her mother who was doing the same to Mr. Hartman.

"Twenty," came a quiet grunt from somewhere in the water as the gators head popped back up and slammed into the 15 foot long air boat causing it to pitch dangerously close to capsizing.

"Oh my god we're going to die," the mother screamed as the little girl and her brother shrieked with fear.

The airboat righted itself and the enormous reptile was nowhere in sight.

"Lyra hold on we are getting out of here," Lyra's father suggested as he gunned the engine.

Just as the boat finished turning around there was the sound of an amused chuckle.

Crack. Lightning flashed overhead illuminating the enormous body of the red eyed beast. Rain began pelting the boat, its fat droplets quickly filling the bottom of the boat with a layer of water.

"Lyra is it?" said a voice called through the sudden rain from the bank.

A large African American man stood on the bank wearing only a pair of swim shorts.

"I hope you can swim," the strange man said as he dove into the muddy water.

He didn't come back up.

On the other side of the water way another gator's heads popped to the surface.

There was the one from before with the red eyes and a slightly smaller one with bright purple eyes.

They split up and swam to either side of the airboat, blocking the exit paths.

"What is going on?" Mr. Hartman cried out fearfully.

Lyra stared into the red eyes of the alligator at the stern of the boat. They were almost like rubies, so beautiful, the onyx hide looked slick in the water. If only she could touch it.

"Lyra stop what are you doing," Mr. Robinson shouted as he tried to jump past the huddle of Hartman's to his daughter who was balancing on the thin metal edge of the stern.

The red eyes monster opened its maw wide revealing a gaping hole lined with eighty gigantic conical teeth.

Lightning cracked the black night to day as Lyra dropped gracefully off the edge of the boat into the water.

"NOOOOOOO, LYRAAAAAAAAAA!"

Black water earned a crimson hue as the red eyed monster snapped its jaws shut around his daughter torso.

Lyra seemed to come out of the trance she had been in. Both the Alligator and the girl thrashed violently in the water, churning it into a bloody pink froth as the mammoth reptile rolled in the water.

Then it was still, the water smooth, the rain stopped and the red hue disappeared as the river's current washed the evidence away. Both the monstrous reptiles had disappeared.

"No, NO, NOOOO, no, nonononononononononoNOOOO. LYRAAAAA, Baby, please, please god please be alive," her father fell to his knees at the stern as he sobbed for nearly twenty minutes straight as the Hartmans held each other and cried.

Static came from the radio.

"Boat #5 your over 45 minutes late, we have you in our sight please respond, our ETA is 3 minutes."

Mr. Robinson didn't even move. Mr. Hartman grabbed the receiver and pressed the button.

"This is Boat #5, a-a gator got a girl that was with us."

"Oh god, is she alright, does she need medical attention."

"Uh, I-I, she h-hasn't come back up," Mr. Hartman stuttered as his voice cracked.

The roar of another airboat filled their ears as the boldly labeled Boat #7 pulled up alongside them.

"Boss, boss, what happened?" a man with floodlight shone it on the boat as he jumped over.

"It got her, Bill, it got Lyra," Mr. Robinson sobbed.

"Tom, it's okay we'll find her, how long ago did it get her," Bill asked as he pulled his best friend and business partner to his feet.

"So much blood, my little girl," was all Tom Robinson answered.

"About twenty minutes ago," Ms. Hartman spoke up from where she sat holding her two crying children.

A noise similar to the sound of a bubble breaking the surface came from the side of the boat causing everyone to jump.

They stared as a torn white sweat shirt bobbed in the water, blotches of red soaked the area around a u shaped set of tears.

Bill immediately grabbed the metal snake hook from the tool rack and extracted the sweatshirt from the water. He grabbed it off the end of the hook and shook it out.

The back was torn open, which explained how it had gotten off Lyra's body, the tattered remains were riddled with circular puncture holes where the upper chest would be.

"Oh, Lyra," Bill allowed a tear to fall as he held the shirt of the girl that he thought of as a niece.

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Woozy was the best way to describe how she felt as she opened her eyes to find herself lying shirtless on a muddy bank, her body half in the water.

"She's awake," a voice from the water said as a pair of bright purple eyes popped to the surface.

Then she remembered what had happened. Scrambling out of the water with her hands she realized her legs weren't assisting her. OH god she couldn't be paralyzed.

Well she was definitely shocked into paralysis for a minute when the purple eyed gator suddenly became a purple eyed young black man. The same one who had jumped in the water earlier.

She couldn't have screamed if she wanted to.

Hands grabbed her under the arms from behind and pulled her up the bank and out of the water. She bent her head back to look into the red eyes of another black young man.

She would have screamed then as well if it hadn't been for the fact that she could feel…something where he legs were. Yet it was such a foreign sensation.

Looking back she prayed her legs weren't too badly damaged.

She did scream then.

"MY LEGS!," Lyra shouted horrified. Where her normally tanned legs usually were was a fish's tail. It was the mossy green of freshly sprouted duck weed.

"Geez my ears are attached to my head ya know," the Red eyed man complained as he finished pulled her out of the water.

"Can you be a little more sensitive, Virgil, the girl just had her first transformation, it's a lot to take in," the purple eyed man scolded.

"Sorry kid, I guess being killed and resurrected as another species is a bit much for one night," Virgil the red eyed man apologized.

"What happened to me," Lyra asked as she ran her hand over the white teeth marks that had scarred over on her torso.

"Short story, you're a mermaid," the purple eyed man said, "Nice to meet you I'm James."

"L-Lyra," she answered cautiously, "What are you."

"Hehe, My brother Virgil and I are what are known as Everglades shifting Mer. We descend from the Seminole Indians that mixed with runaway slaves," James answered, "We can both turn into Alligators. Our kind can get a lot bigger than the normal gators."

"C-can I turn into an Alligator?"

"I'm not sure, all I know is that when I saw you that you were a Mer that was gonna transform soon, so I thought I'd help you along," Virgil said.

"H-how long ago was that, my father must be so worried," Lyra said as she tried to stand up but couldn't as her legs were still missing.

"You've been missing for nearly two weeks, they already held the funeral," James said, "I hurt you pretty badly when I grabbed you so it took a while for you to heal and come out of the coma you were in."

"Funeral, they think I'm dead," Lyra began crying, "Why did you do this to me."

"Hey now, don't cry kiddo, you were a destined Mer, if we hadn't been here to do it, it would have happened anyway. We just wanted to make sure you went through the ritual safely. In retrospect, being drowned by an alligator isn't the best way to go about it but when I saw you my instincts told me to force the change," Virgil explained as he sat next to her in the mud and handed her a tank top to cover herself with.

"Now since you changed here you're obviously a shifter so you don't need to be dry to change. Our kind evolved that way because it's impossible to stay dry in a swamp," James smiles as he sat on the other side of her and rubbed her back as she cried quietly.

It took the rest of the night but finally as the day broke the horizon to the east her legs completely reformed at will so that she could stand up.

"We are going to head back to our tribe, the people here don't feed the alligators marshmallows it's sucks. Anyway, if you want you can come with us or you can stay here. It's up to you," James explained as he started the speed boat he had hidden in a cluster of bushes.

"I grew up here, I don't want to leave yet. Perhaps one day I'll come find you. Where is your tribe," Lyra asked.

"You won't be able to just wander into it. Our tribe owns a few human businesses, so if you want to contact us go to the Seminole Hard Rock Café and Casino. Our Tribe runs its, so if you tell the receptionist that you wanted to go for a swim with your friend Virgil, they'll patch you right through to me," Virgil said.

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She spent the next several months trying to choose which animal she wanted to merge with. When she was human she had always loved the white barred owl that hung around the giant cedar tree that was at the edge of the water way where she had been 'killed'.

Unfortunately, that specific water way was frequented by her father's touring boats.

If she was spotted she would probably give the tour guide a heart attack.

Not only was she still alive but she was also very different looking. Before she had been a mousy brunette with brown eyes. Now she had hair that was the black red of tannin. If she could get the owl to merge with her then her brown eyes would change to the glowing yellow of an owls. There was also the fact that since her transformation she had filled out into a very ethereally beautiful woman instead of a too skinny flat chest human kid.

So she lay in wait. It was dark already and the last of the tour boats had just gone over her head as it headed to the marina.

Stealthily she slunk up the slimy red clay bank and began climbing the tree towards the white owl that was calmly staring at her as if she was expected.

"I come here to ask for your form," she asked.

"My life is near its end, I would be honored to give my body to your use, Mer," the owl replied before launching itself talons first at Lyra's face.

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After the merge she had made the mistake of leaving the safety of the Okefenokee and flying towards the bayous of Louisiana.

In retrospect, any other place probably would have been safe. However she had chosen that particular swamp for its remoteness and hadn't been cautious when she chose where and near whom, she settled down.

She had made the mistake of befriending an old African American woman who made good jambalaya.

Lyra would only ever visit her in human form and was very careful during the month that she knew the strange woman named Aretha Boudreaux, not to show her true form.

Each day she would come for a few hours and keep the nearly eighty year old woman company in the late afternoon.

It was the only time she ate anything she didn't hunt down herself.

One afternoon a few hours before the Full moon was to rise Lyra decided to visit Aretha. She had caught a small pig and decided to bring it to her new friend as a gift.

"Ah, der ya are baby, I've been waiting on ya. Grab a seat," the older woman smiled at the young girl with wrinkled eyes as she ladled the delicious stew into a wooden bowl and set it in front of Lyra.

Lyra obeyed and dug into the hot spicy meal.

She had already eaten half the bowl when she started feeling woozy, it was almost as if she was spinning around in circles.

"Doesn't feel too good does it Mer," Aretha said as she shook a small doll that was an exact copy of Lyra with her odd yellow eyes and white and red streaked hair.

"Why…I trusted you," was all Lyra could say before she transformed in her dizzy state into her Owl form in an attempt to fly to safety.

"Where are you going, I locked all the windows and doors, your trapped little girl," Aretha said, "As for why, I am old soon I will die. But with your youth and powers I can live a very long and healthy life."

The woman she had trusted began chanting.

Lyra wanted to cry as she could feel the magic leaving her limp body, first her control of plants left then her Mer form and then finally the white beam of magic that was racing towards Aretha struck her and her ability to turn back into a human left her grasp.

"AAAAAAAH, What is this, what is happening to me," Aretha screamed as the magic swarmed her like a cloud of angry mosquitoes.

She continued to scream in pain as the magic slowly turned the greedy woman to ash.

The magic turn gray and shot back at Lyra, filling her painfully.

Gasping in her bird form she desperately tried to pull her magic out so that she could turn human again. The magic wouldn't stretch. It was as if her magic had been locked away by the gray stain of darkness that had come from the witch.

Despair filled her as she shot up the cold chimney and out of the cabin.

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Present day

Lyra had been following the silver tailed figure in the water beneath her since she had met him two days ago.

She had been resting on an enormous stone head on what she assumed must be Easter Island when a handsome young man had approached the stone and seemed to be admiring it.

'Stupid Tourists,' Lyra thought about the man.

"I don't know what a two wrist is but I'm a Mer and I have ample reason to believe I am not stupid," the man replied amused to the owl as he stared into her eyes.

Lyra's eyes were the size of saucers.

'You can hear me,' Lyra asked with her thoughts.

"Certainly, although this is the first time I've been able to speak to an animal. Nice to meet you, I'm Light," Light replied with smile.

'My name is Lyra," Lyra offered, "Are you following the music too."

"As a matter of fact I am, I didn't realize that animals could hear it," Light pondered.

'They can't, I'm a M…I'm Special,' she answered.

"Well Special Lyra, since we are both headed to the same place would you like some company," Light asked.

Lyra nodded emphatically.

That had been two days ago and she had enjoyed the conversations she had with Light when he took a rest from bulleting towards the source of the music.

Tonight was a full moon. Such nights were moments of solace for the now seventeen year old girl. Each full moon when her Mer magic was strongest, she could pull her magic just enough to become human. Unfortunately as soon as the moon set, the magic snapped back into its gray prison and she returned to being an Owl.

Her insecurity about this had stopped her from telling Light the truth about her. There was something about him that she couldn't shake, it made her hesitate with the truth because each time she tried to tell him, a doubt would tell her that she shouldn't risk it because if he didn't like her after the truth then she wouldn't survive it.

Since meeting him the depression that had plagued her since she had first transformed disappeared.

Light hadn't mentioned it but he felt the same. He had felt the same feeling when he had met his first Mate Aryla but he couldn't understand why the Euphoria that came with finding your destined mate had appeared when he met and Owl of all things.

His new friend Lyra flew off as the moon rose, leaving him to sit on the beach and enjoy its beauty alone. Perhaps he should go after her, she had seemed upset about something.

As he wandered through the trees of the small island he heard a noise, that could only come from a crying girl. There sitting in a clearing, with her knees up to her chest, was a beautiful woman who was sobbing as she rubbed her hands woefully up her arms and legs as if she were afraid she would disappear.

"Hello there," Light announced his presence. The girl's head shot up and stared at him with unmistakable yellow owl eyes.

"L-Lyra?," Light whispered in surprise.

"So now you know, you don't have to stay, you don't have to pretend to like me now that you know what I am," Lyra sobbed as she rested her chin on her knee.

Light sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Lyra your my friend, regardless of what forms you have. Besides it's quite normal where I come from to be an animal."

"R-really," Lyra asked shakily.

"Yes, and if you think being an owl is weird what would you do if I told you I'm over 1000 years old," Light said. Lyra froze under his comforting hand.

"A Thousand?" Lyra asked.

"A thousand," Light replied, "I'm from the original Atlantis but for the last millennium I was trapped in a stasis chamber."

The two just sat there for the next half hour in silence.

"I haven't had a real friend in nearly 3 years," Lyra said suddenly.

"I've been locked in a block of crystal with no one to talk to for ten centuries. The past doesn't matter. How about you tell me a little about the modern world, I am woefully in need of catching up."

Lyra laughed and began with a modern history lesson.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

They had reached the waters near the Island the next day but Light had been forced to wait as Lyra flew over the wall to try and get the attention of one of the Mer.

Cleo was relaxing in the main creek pool when a white and obviously foreign owl dropped from the sky and began flying circles around the pool screeching loudly.

"There's a Mer trying to pass the gate," Cleo translated to Rikki who was lounging with her. The two shot down the exit tunnel in the pool and sped towards the gate.

Lyra returned to Light and told his to stay under the water and go to the gate.

0-0-0-0

After the announcement the Mers had made on inviting several political figures to the island, the media had swarmed the waters around Mako even more than they had before.

For the past few weeks the Mers that had initially patrolled the island had been replaced by a number of large diamond soldiers that dotted the wall.

So it was a bit of a surprise to see the two Mers that had been identified as Princess Cahaya and Princess Nuri appear at the top of the wall.

From behind the boat line a white owl flew up and landed on Nuri's arm. If the camera crews didn't know better they would have thought that the woman was conversing with the bird. Suddenly the owl flew off towards the Island and the water in front of the opening gates now held a silver tailed man who quickly swam through the open gates and disappeared. The two princess dove of the wall and disappeared as well.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"You're over a thousand years old," Lewis asked incredulously.

"Chronologically, yes that is correct, but I was trapped in the stasis chamber when I was 28," Light answered as he stared as the perfect likeness of his old friend Sihir. He knew the instant that he saw the eight of them that his old friends had gone through with the Ritual of Reincarnation. It was supposed to be a last resort in the case the Mer people were at the moment of imminent destruction.

"You seem familiar, I know we haven't met before but I feel as if we have," Rikki commented.

"I know what you mean," Bella said as she stared at the man's face. It was almost as if she knew she could trust this man implicitly.

"I could say the same. The eight of you are the spitting image of the Royal Council that lived right before Atlantis' destruction," Light said, "As such I have reason to believe you are the reincarnated souls of the Last Council."

"What do you mean," Zane asked a perplexed look coming over his face. The others looked as if they were trying to remember something from their childhood.

"In my time there were Eight Council members, with the titles, Kusuma, Cahaya, Semasan, Ndari, Nuri, Sihir, Luru and Lemah. They like you have names different to their titles. What makes me believe that you, the current Council are the reincarnations of the Last Council is not only do you look exactly as they did but I also have a device left to me by Kusuma, it identifies souls," Light explained. He lifted the device in his hands and pointed it to each of the Royals. The medallion around their necks flashed the color of the box confirming what he had said.

"Why would we be reincarnated, and even if we were how did we all found each other again," Cleo asked confused.

"There is a Ritual that is only known by the Council and is only to be used as a last resort. It is my belief that the Last Council, the one I served used the Ritual of Reincarnation to ensure that they could return and resurrect Atlantis," Light elaborated, "They sent me to Alrana, an Atlantean colony in what is current day South America. Princess Kariala, a lesser royal put me in a stasis chamber before the city was destroyed by the natives. I am the last Advisor, within my mind is the entire Atlantean library not just the few scrolls that Luru was able to save. You were brought together by the Fates which decided when and where to place your souls. I am meant to be your guide, the key that allows you to remember what happened before you died. As such I am at your command, you may not remember me as your friend from long ago, but I hope we can create a new friendship."

The group nodded as if the occurrence was an everyday thing.

"Of course, why don't you tell us a little about your pet owl, she's quite well trained," Will said as he reached out to pet the Owl, which promptly nipped his finger as if she'd been insulted before flying off to sulk.

It took a minute before Light could stop laughing.

"That's not an owl, that's my friend Lyra. She's an Everglades Shifting Mer," Light laughed.

Will looked embarrassed as he sucked his injured finger, "Sorry I didn't realize, why hasn't she turned back."

"Sadly, she can't. A witch in America tried to steal her powers and instead ended up locking her in her owl form. I was actually hoping you would be able to help me Sihir…oh sorry Lewis," Light corrected, "I'm still trying to remember that you aren't my old friends."

"Technically we are, but sure I'd love to help your friend. Do you know how long she's been like that," Lewis asked.

"Yes, she said a little more than two years," Light answered, "She only turns back into a human when there is a full moon."

"Interesting, I believe I can help her."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Hope this chapter isn't too horrible.

Thanks for the reviews, PM me or review with any questions you have. Also you may submit as many Mer as you like however there is no guarantee I will pick one if any of them. This story may also take a slightly darker turn as more problems pop up for the Mer do deal with.


	20. The Tale of the Shape-shifter

Thank you Brichisa for the use of your submission

Chapter 20

Lake Shabla, near the Bulgarian/Romanian coast

17 years ago

"Why Mrs. Comaneci, if I didn't know better I would have thought you were flirting with me, but that can't be right, you are a happily married woman are you not?" Alin grinned flirtatiously as he kissed her cheek and continued rowing the small boat out towards the tiny island in the middle of the lake.

"My dear Alin, I'll have you know that I am indeed, happily married," Catalina Comaneci scolded, "However what my husband doesn't know won't hurt him."

Catalina pulled Alin into a passionate kiss. After several minutes the lovers separated for air.

"Rina, love, what would your husband say if he knew," Alin admonished before pulling her back into the kiss.

The twenty six year old ebony hair beauty laughed, "Why don't you tell him and then we can run away together."

"Your right, I can't live without you," Alin confessed still grinning, "Just give me a minute to find a mirror and I'll tell him that I've stolen his wife."

Catalina giggled, "Mr. Comaneci, have I ever told you that it is your humor that I love the most."

"Really and here I was thinking it was my dashing good looks," Catalina's husband quipped as he steered the little boat flush with the little island.

"That too," Catalina agreed as Alin helped her from the boat and took the picnic basket from her.

Half an hour later the young couple lay on the sides staring at each other lovingly.

"This vacation was exactly what we needed," Rina sighed as she popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth.

"Completely, I haven't been this relaxed in years," Alin said, "There is something almost magical about this island."

"Yes, I can feel it too, it is peaceful," Rina said as sat up and began repacking the picnic basket.

Alin joined her only to freeze as a heavy mist surrounded the island.

"We will have to wait for the mist to clear before we can leave," Rina sighed as she stowed the last of the days leftovers.

"R-Rina, what is that," Alin asked a hint of fear in his voice as he lifted his fingers and pointed into the mist.

Rina searched the wall of white moisture for anything unusual, when her eyes met up with a pair of glowing yellow ones.

"You are the ones that I have been waiting for, take the child and raise it as your own," a melodious voice instructed. The eerie yellow eyes sunk away into the mist.

"Alin, what just happened," Rina asked frightened as the sudden mist dissipated as quickly as it came.

A distinctly infant like cry split the air from the embankment where the eyes had been.

Forgetting their fear the two raced towards the noise intent upon helping whatever child lay there.

Wrapped in a buddle of canvas, was a crying baby with bright yellow eyes.

Rina leant down and gently picked the crying child up.

"Alin her eyes," she pointed out to her husband. Alin leaned over his wife's shoulder and stared into the yellow eyes of the effeminate infant.

Its wails now quieted the baby stared curiously at Mr. Comaneci. It blinked slowly as a flash of light came from the small crystal necklace around her neck.

The infant opened its eyes, glancing around with brown eyes that matched Alin's.

"She's ours," Rina said definitely as she loosened a small scroll of paper that was tied to the necklace.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Present day

"Life was great up until my first transformation," Evangeline said as she told her story to the others around the fire, "They loved me I know that, but I could tell the stress of raising such a special child was getting to them."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Nine Years ago

"Mama, mama look what I can do," Evi attempted to claim her mother's attention.

Catarina smiled at her eight year old daughter, who was playing in front of a mirror in the living room as her mother folded laundry.

"You look wonderful," Rina said absent mindedly as she finished the last sheet.

"Really?" Evi asked her mother as she turned and grinned.

"AAAAAAH!"

Evi just stared in horror at her mother's unconscious body. She could hear her father's foot falls on the stairs as he came to investigate the scream.

"Evi, Evi what's wrong," Alin asked his daughter who was staring at the floor.

"She fainted," Evi said uncertainly as she pulled her eyes away from her mother's prone form and stared at her father.

"AAH, E-Evi?"

"Yeah, Papa what's wrong with Mama?" Evi asked her Father whose eyes were frozen on his daughter yellow eyes her mouth open in confusion, revealing pointed fangs, "I was just showing her my Halloween costume."

"It's alright sweetheart, we'll just have to find you another costume."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Present day

"He had been drinking when he hit her," Evi said, causing the group to gasp.

"Your father?"

"No, the man that ran my mother over," she clarified.

0-0-0-0-0-0

5 years ago

She would live the doctor said, but her kidneys had been badly damaged and she would need one donated. Luckily her husband was a match.

Unfortunately the operation was covered by the health care insurance and while the Comaneci's weren't poor, 50,000 dollars was more than they could afford.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Present day

"That was the first time I ever stole anything," Evangeline confessed, "I got the idea when I met the fabulously wealthy owner of that chocolate maker. I figured the man was rich enough that he wouldn't notice if I took just enough to help my mother. Then I would pay for the operations anonymously so that my parents wouldn't get in trouble. It was easy, I just shook his hand and had everything I needed."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Four years and six months ago

"Mr. Ghirardelli, sir, we weren't expecting you until tomorrow," the butler told her as she stepped through the door into the opulent foyer, "We haven't prepared you a meal."

"Quite alright, I'm merely here to collect some funds from my safe," she explained as she walked briskly past him into Mr. Ghirardelli's study.

He was predictable, a safe with a finger print scanner behind a portrait.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Three years ago

Her mother had gotten the operation and for nearly a year and a half life seemed to return to normal.

However it was also the year that her Father was diagnosed with the terminal brain disease. It had been transmitted to him through a tainted blood transfusion during the transplant surgery that saved her mother's life.

Unfortunately the organ was contaminated by the disease before the operation had finished so six months after her father was diagnosed her mother was as well.

0-0-0-0

Two years ago

"Evi, sweetheart, can you go get your father, I-I want to say good bye," her mother Catarina rasped weakly from her bed in the stark slightly outdated hospital room.

"M-mom? You need rest, you can talk to dad later," Evangeline tried to persuade her dying mother.

"Please, don't argue, it's my last request. Please go get your father," Rina pleaded ending in a cough.

"A-alright mother," Evangeline said, not wanting to remind her mother that her father had died three months ago. One of the symptoms of CJD was loss of memory and lucidness.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she closed the door and leaned against the wall of the deserted hospital corridor.

Bringing up a memory of her beloved father she allowed herself to sink into the feeling of warmth it brought her.

Turning the door handle he headed back into the hospital room.

"Rina, sweetheart how are you feeling," Alin asked his wife.

"Alin, you came, where have you been," Rina smiled at her husband whose hand was now tightly gripping hers.

"I grabbed a sandwich in the hospital cafeteria," Alin explained as he kissed her forehead.

"As soon as I beat this bout of flu I'm going to eat something better than this crap they call hospital food," Rina joked as her breathing weakened.

"I'll take you out for dinner and dancing, we'll get you some of that American Maine lobster and real Italian alfredo," Alin promised as her breathing turned to breathless gasps.

She smiled at her husband one last time as the light fled her eyes. Alin grasped her hand tightly as the EKG flatlines.

"Ms. Comaneci you'll have to stay in the waiting room," the nurse instructed as she ran into the room to check the machines, "We'll bring you any changes."

Evangeline merely released her mother's hand as tears rolled thickly from her eyes. Without replying to the nurse she walked out of the hospital room, down the hall, down the stairs, out of the hospital, down the street through the city and to the cemetery that held her Father's body.

"Papa, I miss you. I miss Mama already, I'm sorry for all the trouble I was a kid. I love you Papa forever and always. Take care of Mama when she gets to heaven."

With that she stood up and continued her walk through the city and to the sea where she remained until the call for sanctuary came.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"I miss them but I've moved on and let my grief go," Evi finished her story to the other who sat around the camp fire.

"That's so sad," Harmony said as she stroked the hair of the two twins that had fallen asleep on her shoulders.

"Like I've said I've come to terms with it," Evi repeated.

"So what do you really look like," Light as suspiciously of the brown eyes brown haired plain girl.

"Well I don't like drawing attention to myself but I suppose it would be alright to drop the disguise with you," Evi said as her eyes screwed up for an instant.

Suddenly her brown hair turned an almost white blonde and her brown eyes turned to yellow cat eyes. Grinning at them self-consciously she flashed the group her razor sharp fangs.

Light fell back wards off the marble bench circle that wrapped around the campfire.

He popped up a minute later with wide eyes as he stared at her.

"You're a vampire," Light accused.

"Quarter yes," Evi smiled, "Whoever left me on the island where my parents found me left a note explaining that my Mother was a Mermaid and my father was a half-vampire. Apparently when those to mix you get a Mer with a vampire's shape shifting ability."

"Vampires EXIST," Rikki shouted a grin of incredulity smeared across her face.

"Yes, didn't you know that," Evi asked.

"I haven't read the entire library and I never thought to look for vampire scrolls," Rikki replied, "Wait if Mermaids and vampires exist…What other mythical creatures exist."

Light laughed at this.

"In my time they weren't mythical, the different species lived together in harmony. When Atlantis fell, the other creatures must have thought they were next and gone into hiding."

"That makes sense, I guess. Light? What other species existed in your time," Bella asked curiously.

"I'm not sure if they all exist anymore but I do know how to summon faeries, and in our time we had enormous sea monsters that we called Krakens that worked for the Atlantean Mer. There were also Satyrs and Nymphs that were always messing with travels in the Mediterranean. The last Cahaya had a pet phoenix but I'm not sure where she went, her name was Reya. Old Atlantis was home to many different magical people and creatures from around the world. Sorry I reacted so badly Evangeline, I was just surprised that vampires survived the purge. Human's hated them more than they did us."

"It's perfectly alright."

0-0-0-0

Sorry it's so short but I've been busy


	21. The Full Moon

I am currently half way over the Atlantic ocean, on my way home from Africa :). Hope you enjoy!

A/N: All conversations between the Islanders are in Atlantean unless it is noted otherwise. Any Moonstruck persons speak in a mixed version of Atlantean and English. They speak English to humans unless it is noted otherwise.

Read and Review, I'm hoping for this story to break the record of most reviews, it's probably not going to happen but an author can dream.

Chapter 21

Light had been true to his word when he said he knew how to summon faeries.

All it took was Bella begging to actually get him to do it. Together they had created a glade with a circle of enormous oaks that surrounded a small pool of water. The edge of the glade was bordered in white dotted red capped toadstools.

However the most marvelous part of this, was the willow in the very center of the pool of water, in which a nymph named Acacia resided.

In reality Light summoned only the Nymph; it was really the beautiful and delicate Acacia that brought the faeries to the Island through a portal in her tree. They all wished to be free of the unending reach of man's greedy, nature raking hand.

Sixty of them came.

All of them, with their giddiness and their brightly colored hair and plant made clothes, were between 3 and 14 inches tall.

Their Queen, Taryn, was the largest of them at about 15 inches, and wore a tight wrap of layered white orchid petals, with a tiny flower crown that was held up by her antennae. Bright orange monarch butterfly wings allowed her to hover, float and fly.

King Stavros was less floral in nature as his 15 inch form resembled a handsome and well defined human with Dragonfly wings on his back, as well as metallic green armor that looked as if it once belonged to a beetle. The most remarkable part was that he could become not only a dragon fly, but also a tiny two foot long fire breathing dragon.

It soon became apparent that each and every one of the faeries could turn into a creature of sorts, whether it was a small mammal or reptile or any number of the larger insects.

They assisted Bella in pollinating the multitude of plants on the island as well as healing any damage done to animals or plants. The helpful yet mischievous little people did not speak English or any other human known language.

Just as their ancestors had before them for many generations, the population of minute ethereal people only spoke Atlantean. To the human ear, to which only Zane was an exception, one would hear only a chime of bells and indistinct chattering.

While most were winged, a fair number of the new comers were disguised as tiny birds and rodents or at the largest rabbits, lizards and turtles.

And so the Council unanimously agreed that it was a capital crime to harm a faery or any animal, or insect that might possibly be a faery. To hurt or kill an animal for non-food reasons was an atrocious thing and as such any naturally occurring creature other than a fish was not to be used as food on the island. Eggs and purposefully raised chickens weren't counted in this category.

While it was found that Satyrs had been hunted to extinction not long after the fall of Atlantis, however the ashes of Cahaya's phoenix, Isadora, were found in a gold preservation jar in the Cavern and she promptly resurrected and currently enjoying life flying with an invisibility charm over the reporters boats, dropping little presents on them.

The Island's level of magic seemed to sky rocket with all the new residents, all of whom answered to the Council.

0-0-0-0-0

Wishing to show some form of commerce and help the island thrive, Emma had gotten Will and Lewis to make another smaller floating platform of marble for a bazaar.

Food on the island was plentiful and seeing as such a thing was a necessity to live, Bella did not charge money for any of the fresh produce or plant products that she grew, at least not to Mers. On human markets she was selling her produce for half price what other farmers were asking but to prevent the collapse of the world economy she only sold fruit that wasn't in season, fresh so that she was only one selling it. All under the name Merduce Inc.

At the bazaar rows of assorted fruit were lined up for any of the inhabitants to just jump to the platform and take what they needed.

Sadaka and Jayden worked together to bring in just enough fish for daily use and were careful not to overfish to surrounding waters.

Harmony, Penny and Alison had decided to work together to supply the island with an assortment of jams, jellies, pastries and the such which they traded for fish and other goods at the Bazaar. The three of them opened 'Sea Treats' a bakery of sorts where they intended to make not only food for the Islanders but also exotic 'Mer made' treats for any human who wished to buy from them.

Having raised chickens at her village in Brazil, Vi and Cobrir found it easy to keep a flock of 60 chickens in a coop behind their cottage. Fortunately for the Islanders, Lewis after losing one too many hours of sleep had stuck a silencing charm on the three roosters in the coop; also to prevent Zenchō from snapping, ignoring his herbivore diet and enjoying a drumstick.

Thanks to Leon's Masters in Business he was recently promoted to Vice president of Mako Fishing Corporation, which was a subsidiary of Bennett and Bennett Corporations.

Will, Ash and Emma, had gone along this line as well and with Zane's financial backing, were now co-owners of Mako Mining Co. Ash and Emma combined her law degree with his business and marketing degree to keep the administrations running smoothly.

Working under Will, Yoshi and Zenchō, worked several hundred miles away at the edge of a deep sea trench that humans couldn't reach.

Together they mined and sold large blocks sea granite from the uninhabited wasteland and ended up grossing nearly 16.4 million dollars from the sea granite they sold to the humans in their first month. It was a joke on the Island that 3 months' of work for hundreds of humans and machines was only 5 day's work for two Mer. Their company was also the only place one could find the rare blue green granite, which had been dubbed by the world as Sea Marble.

Malina, Mikkela, Light and Lyra all assisted Cleo and Lewis in running an elaborate underwater research center that had been dubbed Mako Marine Lab. Lyra fish spotted by air and collected migration data over long ranges. Cleo and Lewis used their Marine Biologist status to sell certain Mer Marine innovations to the humans, something they were paid handsomely for.

Everyone had a job that helped keep the Island supplied and running smoothly.

But even with everyone pitching in and the community thriving, there will always be trouble in any society.

For instance, the full moon still had an effect on the younger less experienced of the Mer population.

Usually the Mers just stayed in their homes and avoided the bright white light that enchanted them.

That is until the full moon was needed to undo the curse on poor Lyra.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Are you sure this is going to work," Light said worriedly as, Lyra, in her owl form sat on a perch in the middle of a spell circle.

"It won't harm her if that's what you mean," Lewis answered, "There is also the fact that we may not be able to cure her this time, this may end up just being a research trial."

Light nodded dejectedly, in the short time he had known her he had become quite close with the smart owl girl and was proud to call her his best friend.

Lewis turned towards the little owl, as the moon rose high into the air.

A mixture of Bright white and murky grey light exited her chest and swirled around her elongating body.

"Look, the grey, its constricting her magic," Lewis shouted, "Lyra, hold that stage of the transformation I'm going to try something."

Using his focus staff he thrust the elongated wand into the mass of spinning light and focused his own magic on the task of grabbing a portion of the fetid dark magic.

A large string of fowl grey webbing stretched and broke as he removed his staff from the mix. At the end, hung half of the slimy matter that had locked Lyra's human body away.

"I don't think I have another one of those in me," Lewis panted as he fell to his knees, the exertion of removing the putrid energy from Lyra had taken a lot out of him, causing him to pass out from exhaustion.

As if a set of chains had been removed from her body, Lyra flowed into her human form, her legs unsteady from lack of use.

"Lyra," Light exclaimed happily as he caught her, preventing her falling to the hard stone.

"I-I feel lighter," Lyra said, holding a hand to her head as if she was dizzy.

"That's good, Lewis got more than half the curse, one more month and you'll be free," Light announced happily, pulling Lyra against his bare chest into a hug.

"Thank the Moon," Lyra said as she smiled into muscular chest, "Is Lewis going to be alright?"

"Quite, he's just tired, it took a lot out of him," Light explained, "How about we go for a swim?"

Leaving the now snoring Lewis spread eagle on the floor, the two friends raced to the nearest water tunnel and out to the ocean.

Unfortunately, Light, being a fully realized adult, who had been on earth through many full moons; had forgotten that younger Mers, such as Lyra, lost control of their mental faculties whilst under the full moon.

In reality the Full Moon functioned as a means of drawing young, Mers, out into the ocean to train them in the way of their powers or find a mate, until the training culminates on a special moon or event and lure the young Mer into a pool so that they may make the final transformation.

It also had the effect of ensnaring defective humans that had corrupted Mer power or had bad genes into the pool and removing their powers. (Charlotte)

Adult Mer, such as Light and all Mer over twenty or that had finished all their transformations, could sit in an active moon pool without the slightest effect.

So it was that Light and Lyra headed out to the lagoon to enjoy a midnight swim in the moonlight.

"It's beautiful isn't it," Light commented on the moon that Lyra was staring at intently.

"Gorgeous," Lyra agreed, "We must retrieve our siblings, so that we may enjoy the waters of New Atlantis together."

Understanding popped into Light's quick mind at her familiar behavior.

"Crap, Lyra, I'm sorry I forgot Mers your age are affected by the moon," Light apologized as he wrapped his arms around her squirming torso, preventing her from escaping.

He realized that the reason she hadn't reacted like this during the last full moon was because her Mer magic had been too restricted by the curse, to allow lunar interference. Now he had to be careful, Moonstruck Mermaids could be extremely dangerous and could either be childlike or seductive monsters.

She stopped squirming, "I don't mind we'll be fine," Lyra said giddiness filling her voice, "Let's head back to the others."

Light let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, "Good idea." He pulled her closer so that she couldn't slip away but he could still swim.

Holding the desperately writhing woman to his chest, he swam back through the tunnels to the covered pavilion in the center of the island. Refusing to let her go in case she tried to escape, he pulled them both out of the water and lay panting from the exertion of carrying the struggling young woman.

"Rikki," Light called out to the blonde princess who was lounging with her feet in the fire. Isadora was napping with her head resting on her mistresses feet.

"Light? Lyra? Aren't you guys supposed to be with Lewis?" Rikki asked standing up and stepping through the flames towards them.

"He passed out and Lyra's moonstruck," Light explained as Lyra struggled to escape by wiggling in his grasp. He was having trouble holding onto her as he tried to avoid inappropriately grabbing her banana leaf wrapped breasts.

"Damn, it's a good thing we sent the other prone kids to their cottages," Rikki commented as she grabbed the struggled auburn haired girl under the arms and dragged her away from the tunnel entrance.

She dropped the owl Mer near the fire to dry and proceeded to evaporate the water off herself and Light.

"Keep an eye on her, I'm going to go wake up one of the other non-prone people and see if they can help up with this chickadee," Rikki requested as she dived into the tunnel and raced off to get assistance.

"What, what happened," Lyra said shaking her head as she looked up at Light.

"You got moonstruck," Light explained as he sat down next to the girl, "You seem fine now though."

"That's good," Lyra said, "You've got something on your face." Using her thumb she leaned over and rubbed at a nonexistent spot of dirt.

"T-thanks," Light stuttered as Lyra's face came within an inch of his.

"No problem," Lyra smiled moving close enough for her lips to touch his if she leaned in just a little.

"L-Lyra?" Light asked as his best friend leaned so close that he could see the detailed striations in her Bright yellow eyes.

Before he could ask anything further she pushed her lips against his, throwing inhibition out the window. For a moment he didn't react, he simply sat there stunned. 'It feels good,' he thought as he melted into the kiss. 'It feels right,' he thought as he pulled her against him.

"OI, no making out with Moonstruck idiots," Rikki called out in jest at the couple lying on the floor on the pavilion.

Lyra slowly pulled away from Light whose face was screwed up into a content sleepy expression.

"Light?"

"Hello, your majesties, would you like to go for a swim," Light smiled putting an arm around Lyra who was giggling happily.

"Well, it's a good thing you called for backup, because now we have TWO Moonstruck Idiots," Cleo laughed at the couple who was staring dreamily at each other.

"Whatever, let's just tie them up and leave them till morning," Rikki rolled her eyes at her sister's comment.

"I have a better idea," Lyra grinned. Suddenly the moonstruck girl began singing in an eerily familiar pitch.

"Come one, come all, my sisters, my brothers, answer my call. To the human realm we shall travel, a night of fun we shall unravel."

Two lines were enough to awaken and ensnare the entire teenage population of Mer on the Island. The deep silence that normally pervaded the Atlantean night was broken by the sounds of doors opening and splashing, as nine Moon susceptible Mers answered the call from Lyra and hurried to the ocean and the mainland.

"SHIT, Cleo wake up the others and tell them we have who knows how many Moonstruck Mers heading to mainland to do who knows what," Rikki ordered to Cleo who was already running off to wake the others. Turning back to the two in front of her she cursed loudly as she found only a trail of water leading to the tunnel entrance, "I swear to the Moon that I'm going to lock them all in a cage next month."

Jumping into the tunnel she immediately went to her and Zane's cottage, woke up her husband and the two quickly dressed in casual Mer clothing to keep from spooking their prey, and headed back to join up with the others who were heading to the wall to warn the hapless reporters that there were possibly deadly Mers on the loose.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Emma was hidden in shadow on the wall near the gate to Atlantis as she watched at least two of the AWOL Mers swim about the boats. It was possible that they would do nothing and just enjoy a swim until sunrise, but it was also a possibility that the two would go crazy and sink the nearly sixty boats parked in the waters surrounding the walls.

Standing next to her also wearing a very simple swath of white clothing around his waist, compared to her full torso wrap, was Ash who was sharpening his focus sword as they waited for Cleo, Bella, Will, Cobrir, Penny, and Mikkela. The others were to stay and guard the Island in case the AWOL Mer came back or any Reporters thought this was a chance to get in.

"They're coming," Ash announced to his wife as he saw the V's of the retrieval party, "Come on honey, relax, they're just a bunch of kids. Didn't things like this happen to you and the girls when you were kids? What's the worst that could happen?"

"That's what I'm afraid of, there were only four of us back then and our actions didn't have the potential to become international incidents. If they hurt someone or break something important, it could start a war and our chance at being a nation would be gone."

"It'll be alright sweetie, in fact I'm sure that they're probably just wandering around like drunk idiots," Ash soothed with an arm around her waist as the rest of their party joined them on the wall.

"Rikki if you would," Emma asked her sister. It was a key part of Mer society and showed how close they all were to each other that even if you weren't related you called all other Mers in your clan Brother or Sister. Only the Royals were exempt they were often called, 'My Lady or My Lord' Whilst in the company of humans. Mothers and Fathers were exempt from this but only their own children called them thus.

Rikki reacted immediately and clenched her fist, igniting the torches the Sentinels were holding. The entire area burst into light, causing a lot of the sleeping or relaxing reporters to jump to attention in shock.

"HEY, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA," one, half a sleep reporter complained as he walked out on the deck of his companies News' boat. He froze along with all the others that saw not only the infamous Royals standing on the wall but a handful of other people.

"HUMANS," Ash shouted out to get the now awake crowds attentions, "EIGHT OR MORE OF OUR PEOPLE, MERS, HAVE BECOME ENCHANTED BY THE MOON. THERE IS A GOOD POSSIBILITY THAT THEY ARE HARMLESS, BUT ALSO AN EQUALLY LIKELY CHANCE THAT THEY WILL BECOME BLOOD THIRSTY AND ATTACK YOUR VESSELS."

His words seemed to incite panic, especially in the Evangelist section, which started shouting prayers.

"BE WARNED ONE OF THEIR NUMBERS IS A HALF VAMPIRE," Emma cut in. Will was trying to hold in snort of laughter as a woman in the Evangelist's group fainted.

"THE OTHERS ARE DANGEROUS AS WELL, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THEM, DO NOT TRY TO CATCH OR TOUCH THEM. DOING SO, MAY RESULT IN YOUR DEATH. TO THOSE WATCHING THIS ON THE NEWS, REMAIN INSIDE, IF YOU ARE MALE, FIND A WAY TO COVER YOUR EARS, SEVERAL OF THEM ARE SIRENS AND WILL DROWN YOU FOR FUN," Cleo added before lowering her voice.

This was good, cameras were rolling live and warning the locals not confront the AWOL Mers.

"How do we know this isn't a scare tactic," one Reporter shouted, she was extremely close to the edge of her boat.

"You don't but if you don't back away from the edge of your boat, there is a good chance that one of the three Mers I count circling these waters will pull you in and drown you. The moon is full and our young are dangerous during this time."

"Young? Are the juveniles of your species a danger to humans?" a scientist asked as he vigorously took notes.

"Only during the full moon, under normal circumstances, their territory would be free of humans and they would experience minimal side effects. However because of human involvement they are likely to try and draw you into their games. They are stronger than humans and what they see as games can be highly damaging to your frail bodies," Ash answered, "Now we are going to attempt to round them up, I reiterate stay away from water even if it's in a cup and do not leave your boats or houses."

"But we could have so much fun," a beautiful Latino girl announced as she pulled herself up onto the deck of the Evangelist's boat who all crowded to the back away from her.

With a wave of her hand the water evaporated and she stood up in a cloud of steam and began advancing towards the Evangelist.

Cobrir, wanted to laugh, he wasn't sure if the Evangelists were more upset about the presence of a 'demon' or the fact that his wife was wearing a rather revealing set of black bra and panties that she had fallen asleep in.

Evangeline appeared from a shadow at the back of the boat.

"You're not afraid are you," Evangeline bared her fangs in a razor sharp smile, "We just want to have a little fun." The half vampire girl was wearing a white tank top and a pair of red Sophie's, her bunny slippers still attached to her feet.

This could turn vicious at any moment and the girls, especially Evangeline needed to be returned to the Island.

Bella, who until now had stayed silent, watching the two girls as they terrified the Jehovah's witnesses, jumped up into the night sky with the use of her flight bands and was silhouetted by the full moon before she began her ascent and landed with a loud thud, cracking the wood planks as her feet hit the deck.

"The two of you are going to return to the Island," Bella ordered.

"Let's have a little fun first, I have never had human blood before," Evangeline's whispers echoed through the silent night air.

"Me neither," Vi said as she dropped the Illusion on her mouth and revealed rows or serrated triangles.

"THAT WAS AN ORDER," Bella yelled to the oblivious girls who were cornering a woman as she quoted bible verses.

As if they were alive the dead wood of the planks beneath the girls' feet began growing like vines up around their legs which were now rooted to the deck.

A second vine reached up and tied them back to back, rendering them harmless.

"AHHH, come on we were just gonna have a nibble," Evangeline pouted as she stretched her neck and snapped at the woman's face with her fangs.

A vine wrapped over their mouths and tied their heads together.

"My apologies, in our species, the Full moon is a time to discover oneself in many ways without fear of retribution or judgment. Unfortunately for some, one of the things they discover is whether or not they are going to be carnivorous or not," Bella smiled trying to placate the ruffled passengers.

"DEMON, THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU," a priest shouted at Bella, whose eyes narrowed dangerously as she waved a hand at him, "MMMM NMMM NMMMMM."

"I just solidified all the water in your jaw ligaments, you won't be able to move it, talk or eat for the next twenty four hours, enjoy sipping water through a straw," Bella said sweetly as waved her hand and the two struggling teens were carried by the vines from boat to boat until they reached the wall and were hefted up and away by Cobrir and Mikkela back to the people on the Island.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The rest of the Mer teens and Light fled to the Mainland and were enjoying themselves in a multitude of different ways.

0-0-0-0-0

"Back, BACK I say," a woman holding a broom batted at the hissing black boy who was scarfing down handful after handful of raw fresh salmon filet that was on the display shelf of the local fish market.

"Kari lapunu," Sadaka growled as he swallowed one of the fish whole, before grinning at the angry butcher with his razor sharp teeth.

"AAAAAAAAAAH," the woman screamed as she dropped the broom and ran down the SuperStore aisle screaming about demons.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Isn't it beautiful," Rose smiled dreamily as she cartwheeled through the local park. With a wave of her hand an enormous statue of a local hero turned from copper to jello.

Malina laughed hysterically as she pulled one of the statues hands off and began eating it. She made a punching motion and the water in the fountain opposite the statue froze solid.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time," Malina giggled as Rose turned the side walk into pink jolly rancher, laid down on in and began licking it happily.

"Oi, what do you kids think you're doing, this park is closed after eight," a police man shouted at them expecting them to run off as all the other local delinquents did.

"We are of the moon, nothing is closed to us," Malina stated happily as Rose jumped up and returned to her cartwheels.

"What? Are you one drugs? Never mind, Give me your parents numbers, I'm going to let them know what you're up to," The officer chastised. It was obvious he couldn't see the 'changes' the two girls had made to the park in the dark.

"Parents? Silly man we are citizens of Atlantis, the moon is our mother," Rose said coming out of a cartwheel right in front of the flashlight toting man.

Shining his light on the two girls in front of him, he noted their odd eyes, one was pink haired and with pink iris', while the other had black hair with white, blue streaks and white blue eyes, which were odd for someone of Asian decent.

"At-Atlantis? THE Atlantis?" he shone his light around the park trying to spot any others and noticed that the famous statue of John Laridon was no longer greenish metal but instead bright orange and translucent…and it appeared that his missing arm was being eaten by the Asian girl in front of him. The water in the fountain was frozen and an enormous section of sidewalk was a clear pink.

"Of course silly, the full moon has awoken our souls and we are free," Rose smiled before skipping past the patroller towards the more lighted section of the city.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"IT'S AMAZING," Adalyn shouted happily as she followed her brother into the enormous 24 hour Superstore (Walmart don't sue me). It was nearly three stories tall and had everything a child could possibly want.

Including…a pet section!

Adrien ran to the back of the store where, a wall of tanks filled with various small rodents, reptiles and birds were being held.

"That's horrible," Adrien began crying at the imprisoned creatures that had all sat up and stared at him, as if they recognized him.

"Hello, little boy, where are you parents," a female employee asked sweetly to the little crying boy.

"My Daddy killed my Mama," Adrien said between sobs for the poor animals, "Our new Mama is at home."

"Oh my, uh, uh, um, so you're here alone?" the suddenly flustered woman asked.

"No, my sister Addie is here too," Adrien answered his crying lessening.

"Oh, well where is she? I don't see her," the employee asked looking over the top of the aisles for an adult.

"I'm right here ma'am," a little voice interrupted her search.

"Huh, oh uh, You're his sister," the woman asked confused, "Are you here with an adult?"

"No" they said in unison.

"Rien, it's horrible, they have a whole section of dead flowers," Adalyn said sadly, "It's so sad."

"Yeah, and look at all these poor animals being kept in cages," Adrien said sadly.

"It's alright they're pets, and those flowers you saw are for decoration," the employee tried to placate the crying six year olds.

"If you ask me, this place is GREAT, they have an all you can eat meat buffet," a voice said from behind them, causing the three to turn.

"DAKA!" the children yelled happily.

"SIR!" yelled the terrified employee.

Sadaka was standing before them in nothing but PJ pants, his entire torso smeared with blood from his dripping sharp toothed mouth, a large ribcage of an unknown animal was slung over his shoulder.

"Daka, that poor animal," Adrien reprimanded his older 'brother'.

"Looks good can I have some," Adalyn asked holding her hand out to Sadaka.

Sadaka smiled showing even more of his teeth before ripping off a section of meat from the beef carcass he had over his shoulder and handing it to the little carnivore.

Purring happily, the little girl ripped into the slab of bloody raw meat, stretching it sickly before pulling a chunk off and swallowing it whole.

The employee wretched and threw up from watching the tiny child rip apart the raw cow flesh.

"More, more," Adalyn begged as she tried to climb up Sadaka and grab at the cow carcass.

Sadaka chuckled and dropped the carcass on the floor. Adalyn immediately jumped on it staining her small white nightgown with the red liquid.

The employee ran screaming down the aisle as Sadaka crouched down and assisted the little Mer in stripping the meat from the bones.

Adrien rolled his eyes and head to the produce section to grab a snack.

0-0-0-0-0

Lyra missed dancing.

Since she had been trapped in her Owl form, she hadn't had any opportunities to dance and as such, she had dragged Light towards Downtown where all the night clubs were and was presently waiting in line to get into the club.

"Why are they staring at us," Light asked stupidly, Lyra's kiss seemed to have lowered his IQ by half.

"Not sure," Lyra said as she swayed in place and stared at the moon.

One of the girls from the group of chicks in front of them turned around with a sneer on her face.

"Because, this is a club and you're hardly dressed to get in. You're wasting your time, they only let in the hottest or most famous people in," the snobby girl remarked.

"I don't see a problem with our clothes, all the people where we come from dress like this," Light said, staring down at his metal knee length pants. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so his glowing Kemala was showing free of fetters.

"Well, you're half naked and she's may be wearing a cute dress but its soaking wet, you both look and smell like you've been sitting in the ocean," another one of the snotty girls friends butted in.

"Yeah there is just no chance you're getting in dressed like THAT," the first girl sneered.

"We'll see about that," Lyra said sweetly before grabbing Light's hand and dragging him out of the line and to the front of the long line. Several people who had been waiting were yelling at them not to cut.

"Get back in line," the bouncer ordered not really looking at them.

"It is my understanding that beautiful famous people get in," Lyra smiled.

"Yeah, well you may be hot but you certainly ain't famous," the Bouncer said, unfolding his arms. Where his arms had been a moment before was a mermaid pin.

"You like mermaids," Lyra asked a grin spreading across her face.

"Yeah, what of it," the Bouncer said losing his patience.

"We happen to be from the Atlantis clan," Light added in pointing to his Kemala.

The Bouncer's eyes widen in recognition of the glowing jewelry the Mer were known for.

"How do I know you're the real deal and you didn't just get some weird necklace," the Bouncer asked trying to hide his excitement.

"This is how," Lyra smiled, her hand came up and clenched into a fist. Suddenly a small cloud appeared over the group of snobby girls that had insulted them earlier, with another wave of her hand rain fell heavily on the group flattening their overdone hair to their heads and causing their mascara to run in thick black rivulets.

"Welcome to Club 9," the Bouncer grinned as he unlatched the velvet rope and allowed them to enter. The previously angry line was now cheering and whistling at the two of them.

0-0-0-0-0

"They've been here," Will said as he twirled his metal cable with his mind. Bella and Will had left the rest of the group and followed wet foot prints and Kemala signals from the beach to the park.

"No, really, cause I thought human's normally kept frozen fountains and Jello statues in there parks," Bella laughed at her husband. He seemed to be enjoying this chase, almost as if it were a game of hide and seek.

Will made a pouty face at her remark, "You're lucky you're carrying my child or I might actually get mad at your hormonal remarks," Will joked as he smiled at his wife, who was only just starting to show. She was due in three months.

"Love you too," Bella grinned.

"Love you, more," Will said as he leaned over to his wife and kissed her.

"Awwwww," they heard two girly voice exclaim from down the road.

"Oi, you two, which ones are you," Will called out.

"It's us Lina and Rose," Malina giggled as she jumped out of the bushes she and Rose had been hiding in and ran with her 'sister' down the street and out of their view.

"Come on," Will told Bella as he ran after the two girls towards the brightly lit, board walk at the beach.

"Can't catch us," Rose giggled as she ran onto the boardwalk barefooted with Malina, dividing the crowd with their antics.

"By the order of the Atlantean Royal Council, CEASE AND DESIST," Will ordered to the unruly children. He was really enjoying this too much.

For a moment the two seemed to hesitate but that was quickly squashed when the humans added there two cents.

"It's the Mers," one teenage girl yelled to the crowd that was gathering.

"That is correct, those two girls have been Moonstruck, and they could be dangerous. If you are male cover your ears and do not allow them to kiss you," Bella warned the crowd, whose male portion immediately covered their ears and backed away.

"Come along children your fun is over now, let's return to the Island," Will held a hand out to the young girls in hopes of getting them to return without trouble or bruises.

"No, We wish to stay in the light of the Moon, she is our mother," Rose refused her agitation at being surrounded showing, "If you attempt to force us, I'll turn the humans to stone."

The crowd didn't seem to like that.

"STONE? You're kind can turn us to STONE?" one woman shouted hysterically.

"Only a few special ones…unfortunately she's one of them," Bella tried to placate.

"Rosie, please. This isn't like you at all, what would your mate say," Bella scolded gently.

"Well, seeing as he ran off to plunder the nearest butcher shop, I'd say he wouldn't care at all. Maybe you should go after him, in case he decides cold cow meat isn't as tasty as warm human, instead of going after us, when all we want is some fun," Rose answered. Malina seemed worried, she wasn't very experienced with her powers and knew it was very difficult to fully freeze a human.

Bella and Will nodded to each other.

"You give us no choice," Bella said, raising her hand at Malina. The Aleutian girl froze like a statue, as Bella solidified the water in her outer most layer of skin. It was like being in a diamond suit.

Turning her hand on Rose she felt her power being contested by Rose's Transmutative powers.

In the empty space of boardwalk between the Gelodkinetic Princess and the Tranmuting Aphrodite Mer, the air and wood shimmered as it warped from their power. The wood began to melt as it was now semi solid glass and the humidity in the air turned to soup as the water collected together in rivulets of gel.

"NOW WILL," Bella shouted.

The metal cable attached to a reel on his hip, shot out and surrounded the pink haired girl in a tight wrap of coils. She hadn't been able to fight both of the overpowered Royals off.

With the remainder of the cable Will tied the two girls together and he and his wife set off through the water back to the Island. They had gotten two of the Mer and with their quota full, left the remainder to the others.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"I'd say we follow the sound of screaming and we'll find them, "Ash laughed as he dramatically ushered his wife into the Superstore with a bow.

"It's either Sadaka or the Twins," Emma surmised on the basis of the people shouts.

"Run, there are little demons eating people," one terrified woman yelled from the pet section.

"Or both," Ash concluded as the two Royals walked towards the pet aisles which seemed to be cordoned off by the staff of the store.

"I'm sorry, but the pet section is closed," a nervous employee explained without looking at the two.

"That is why we are here," Emma said annoyed as she rapt the bottom of her crystal trident against the tile floor.

"Huh," the young man said as he looked back at the two in their white clothing, and crowned heads with their tridents. Their focus' were hanging from their belts.

"We are from the Atlantean Royal Council, a number of children from our community have become moonstruck and are terrorizing this town, I believe one or more of them are currently doing something grotesque from the reactions of the other costumers," Ash smirked.

"Hello your majesties," a small boy came up from behind them with an apple in hand, his face smeared with watermelon juice, "Sadaka and Adalyn got hungry, but meat is nasty so I got fruit."

"That's nice, Adrien, why don't you wait here with Prince Semasan while I get your brother and sister," Emma smiled at the little boy. He was moonstruck, but he was the 'Sunshine and rainbows moonstruck' not the 'Drown sailors and eat them moonstruck'. He would be easy enough to return to the Island.

"Alright, Brother Semasan would you like an apple," the little boy offered the Prince.

"Maybe later kiddo," Ash smiled as he picked the kid up with his trident free hand.

"Now if you'd allow me to pass, I'm sure I could round up the trouble makers and you could reopen the pet section…if any of the pets survived," Emma said as she stepped past the employee who was staring at her beautiful face as if his eyes were force to follow her.

She walked down past the litter and kibble aisles and found her two charges stripping the last bits of meat of a large portion of a skeleton.

"I know you're carnivores but is that really necessary, have some manners," Emma scolded, causing the two bloodstained Mer to look up from their meal.

"Um, who are you," the Store manager asked as he tapped her on her shoulder.

"I am Princess Ndari of Atlantis and if you wish to keep your finger you won't touch me again," Emma glared at the presumptuous woman and her sharp nails that had jabbed her.

"Great, another psycho," the manager grumbled, "I'm calling the police."

"I am not a psycho, I am a Mermaid and call the police if you wish they won't be able to do anything about these children. I am here to retrieve them, so if you would shut up and step out of my way, I would be much obliged," Emma snapped.

"A-a Mermaid, like those out on that Island," the Store manager said gaping like a fish.

"The very same, now I've had a long and trying night, so if you would kindly leave so you don't get hurt I'll handle this."

The manager ran post haste away from the pet section.

Sadaka and Adalyn just stared at her serenely.

Hmmph, maybe they had their fill and would come quietly.

No need to take chances.

With a wave of her hand the juveniles' joints froze, preventing any movement.

Using her Ice control she levitated them by the frozen section of their bodies and head back to her husband.

It had been a long night and she was grateful to be heading back to her comfy bed.

"Hey babe, just thought I'd grab some Cheetos while we're here," Ash commented as they exited the store. Adrien who was on his shoulders was carrying a bag of puff Cheetos and was dropping a handful into Ash's open mouth every few steps as they walked.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Mer were naturally very pretty. Their siren song was legendary for its ability to lure men in.

Lyra just happened to be Mer.

As such all the men in the club were crowding around her as she danced hypnotically in the center of the dance floor, singing Atlantean.

"She's a goddess," one man said swooning in a display rather like a prepubescent girl who had just seen Taylor Lautner.

"I hope she's single," another said.

"Don't matter if she's single, She's MINE," a loud voice said from the back of the crowd.

Now Thomas Carpenter, the owner of the voice, was a brute to say the least. Six foot four, muscles on muscles, with a bald head. Despite his rather grotesque appearance, this man thought he was God's gift to women. As such he thought, in his tiny mind, that Lyra would instantly fall in love with him. So he made his way through the crowd, pushing other love struck idiots out of his path and came to a stop in front of the gracefully dancing beauty.

Oddly, she didn't seem to notice him at all, in fact, she only seemed to have eyes for a bare chested man in pajama pants. The man in turn, like the rest of the club couldn't take his eyes off the woman.

'That's not right,' he thought, 'She should only be looking at me.'

Lyra blew a kiss at Light before turning in a perfect pirouette. Unfortunately, she was unable to finish her pirouette as she hit a large hard mass.

"Hey, there babe, fancy a dance," a deep voice came from above her 5' 4" head.

Looking up she realized it was a rather tall, buff man.

"Lariea, Pakailu?" the pretty young girl asked.

"Name's Thomas, and don't worry babe, you don't need English, I'll do the talking," Thomas smiled wrapping his arms around her waist so she couldn't escape.

"Tapika Caya repotek," the girl growled as she squirmed tried to escape the prison his arms had made, "Corundum!"

"I don't know what that means but it sounds hot," Thomas laughed.

WHAM.

"Are you alright Lyra," Light asked in Atlantean, shaking out the hand that had just downed the arrogant ass.

She just giggled and jumped onto his knocking him to the floor, so that she was straddling his waist, "Do you want to be my Mate," Lyra asked as she kissed his neck.

He couldn't think straight.

'Pretty girl, I love her, she's nice, Pretty girl," Light thought stupidly.

"Yeah," Light answered without thinking.

Lyra squealed and kissed him hard. Neither noticed the bright flash of light their Kemalas gave off.

0-0-0-0

"No cutting," someone from the line to 'Club 9' shouted at them as they followed the Kemala trace with their own moonstones.

"We are not here for your stupid club, we came to retrieve two Mers that have been affected by the moon. One of them just underwent a dangerous ritual and we need to recover her before something bad happens," Cleo stated.

"Sorry Lady, I can't let you break up the party and with those two in there, It's a party," the Bouncer said, he had traded spots with the last bouncer after the shift change half an hour ago. He wasn't enough of a fan of the Mers to break the line protocol, "You'll just have to wait in line like the rest."

Cleo rolled her eyes, before pointing a finger to the silver circlet around her head, "You see this, it's a crown, and it means that I am a Princess and a member of the Royal Atlantean Council. Now I'm going to pass you and retrieve the children you allowed into your club and then return to my home."

Cranky from the loss of a night's sleep, Cleo flicked her hand at the bouncer, the water inside him forced him back several feet allowing the two Mer to enter the club.

0-0-0-0-0

Lyra and Light were still rolling around on the floor, madly kissing.

"Well, well, well, "Penny said as she saw the two making out on the dance floor, "A mating on a full moon. That's supposed to be good luck for our kind you know."

"Either way, we have to break it up before they do something irreversible," Cleo said.

It wouldn't do to have Lyra pregnant as an Owl, seeing as the Curse wasn't broken.

The water in their bodies followed Cleo's command and the two separated and came to forced attention.

"March," Cleo ordered, not that they could refuse as the water in their legs forced them to walk across the dance floor and out of the club, with their two babysitters following close behind.

0-0-0-0

"Well, tonight was trying to say the least," Will joked as they sat around the fire waiting for the moon to set.

"MMMhhMMMmmhmm," a muffled plea came from one of the young Mer, who were tied back to back to the many columns of the pavilion.

"Yeah, yeah shut up," Yoshi said, grouchy from having to babysit the moonstruck kids.

Vi didn't seem to mind being tied up but that might have something to do with the fact that her husband Cobrir was lying with his head in her lap talking quietly to his mate.

Light and Lyra were tied back to back and were trying every which way to turn and face each other.

Evangeline was contentedly sucking from a long straw that connected to a bag of fish blood, while Malina who was tied to her back was being entertained by her best friend Mikkela via an IPod.

Sadaka and Rose slept contently tied side by side, their hands clasped together as they slumbered.

Harmony was holding a bloodstained Adalyn who was fast asleep, her ankle had a length of metal cable tying her to a column in case she woke up.

Adrien was fast asleep, his ankle also tied to a column several feet away, his white pajamas were stained like his sisters but instead of blood the young boy was covered in orange Cheetos stains.

Ash was trying to remove the still half full bag from the six year olds death grip.

"Don't wake the kid up," Emma reprimanded her husband.

"I just want some Cheetos," Ash pouted, "Yes." He managed to free the bag, which he immediately began emptying via his stomach.

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The next morning

"Ugh," Light groaned as he opened his eyes to the searing morning light, "What happened, I feel like I have a hangover."

"Me too," Lyra said, "Why are we tied up?"

"Hello you guys," Will grinned, "You're the last to wake up, you got a little moonstruck last night. We had to chase you onto the mainland and get out from some club. Apparently some guy tried to make the moves of Lyra here and you floored him."

"Moonstruck, I'm an adult, I can't get moonstruck," Light asked confused. Full grown Mer only ever got moonstruck if their fated life mate kissed them during a full moon and one of them was still moon susceptible.

"Hehe, well," Will started.

"You got mated last night is what," Lewis snapped, "Oh and thanks for leaving me unconscious in the spell circle, buddy, the magic went haywire and now my leg hair is blue."

"Mated?" Light asked, "To who?"

'Please be Lyra,' he thought, he wasn't particularly fond romantic wise of any of the other females.

'Oh, great, with my luck he'll probably be mated with Harmony or Evangeline,' Lyra thought dejectedly, 'not that he'd ever even like me to begin with.

"To Lyra," Lewis said, "I have a theory that now that half the curse is broken, that as long as you two are touching that she won't revert to her Owl form."

Will waved his hand at the metal cables and the newly mated couple immediately jumped up and turned to each other.

Unfortunately they were no longer touching.

"Oh sorry, Lyra," Light apologized as he leaned down and pressed a finger to the top of Lyra's sudden Owl form. She reformed before their eyes.

"There is also a good chance that you will stay human at night as well, not just on the full moon," Lewis said, "Now breakfast has started and everyone else wants to congratulate the Newlyweds."

Will and Lewis turned and headed to the meal Pavilion, "You coming?" he asked before turning to see that the new couple hadn't followed them a single inch. Instead they found Light and Lyra, limbs intertwined as they enjoyed the first kiss of married life. (At least that they remembered ;D)

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Hope you liked it, Reviews are always nice.

I hope to be able to update more now that I'm going to be back in the U.S. but with school starting that might be a problem. ): I'll try anyway.

I am also taking profiles similar to the Mer profiles you lovely reviewers have been sending me, for creatures like faeries, nymphs and other mythical beings you want to see on the Island.

Hoping to Create the Magical World of Atlantis - TempduLoupe


	22. The Pegasi

A/N: sorry, I haven't updated in so long, I have been very busy with school, clubs and stuff. I also reread my last chapter and noticed it was very choppy and I didn't like it very much. (It was written when I was tired and airsick but still not really an excuse).

Thank you francophone for the idea on pegasi. You helped me out when I was having writers block.

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Chapter 22

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"I'm just saying, it would be cool if we had pegasi, like in the old days," Light suggested as he finished his breakfast with the Royal council at the high table of the eating pavilion. The Queen would be arriving in one week and they still had to deal with the aftermath of what the media had dubbed as the 'Night of Moonlight Mayhem'.

"Sound nice," Emma replied absentmindedly as she continued scrolling down the list of formal complaints over the 'NOMM' and made notes of how to make reparations.

"Pegasi? What are Pegasi" Cleo asked curiously as she spooned more fried banana into her mouth.

"Pegasi, is plural for Pegasus, which are winged horses. The Royal council had a stable of them in Old Atlantis," Light explained.

Cleo's face lit up as if Christmas had arrived early, "That sounds amazing, where would we find them," she asked with almost childish excitement.

"I remember the Greek Mers kept pegasi, but I can't remember where they found them," Taryn said from her perch atop the orange juice pitcher.

"You don't find Pegasi, you make them," Light said as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

"Make them, how do you make a Pegasus," Bella asked from her seat next to Cleo.

"Easy, you pick a horse, then pick a bird, and then ask them if they want to be a pegasus, if they say yes then you use a merging spell and voila you have a pegasus. Unicorns were made much the same way, because some stupid warrior thought it would be cool if their horse had a weapon too. I doubt there are any left in the world if no one has been making either of them," Light rambled.

"You mean to tell me that you can mix two animals together and just make another," Ash grinned as he thought of a meal consisted of an actual turducken instead of a chicken stuffed inside of a duck inside of a turkey. Yes, yes, this could be fun.

"Yes but the magic that makes them also makes them inedible," Light replied as he watched Ash licking his lips.

Ash sighed dramatically and went back to his bacon, dreaming of what could have been.

"Anyway, if you guys want one, all you have to do is pick what horse you want, then pick which bird's wings you want the horse to have, and if they agree then you'll have your Pegasi,"

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It hadn't taken very long for Light to get a list of combinations from the now excited Council, including one from Emma who had actually put down her iPad long enough to ask for a white horse with white wings before returning to her work.

With his list in hand Sadaka, Zenchō and Light headed out the main gate of Atlantis on a freshly constructed hard water barge that held a number of cages and stable stalls for their intended quarry.

"Excuse me, hello there, excuse me, may I ask what that boat is going to hold," an excited reporter asked from the side of a yacht that had to pull aside to allow the large vessel passed.

"Pet parts," Zenchō replied creepily before Sadaka rolled his eyes and answered.

"We are bringing back pets for the Royal family," Sadaka answered politely as the barge started speeding up and soon disappeared into the distance.

"Was that really necessary," Light asked the young Asian boy.

"Yes, and besides I didn't lie, did I," Zenchō grinned as they neared the main land faster than any human made boat would have been able to.

After fifteen more minutes they pulled up to an open dock of a commercial port that had been reserved by Mako Fishing Co and anchored their vessel.

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It was rather an odd sight to see.

The harbor master's brow were furrowed in confusion and disbelief as a glass barge pulled up to one of his docks and anchored itself.

Jogging over to the vehicle, he realized that the rather large vessel was only manned by three young men.

"Ahoy there, might I see your paper's allowing you to use this dock," the Harbor master asked as two of the oddly dressed trio exited the boat. The third, a young African boy, that wore a sharks tooth necklace and a metallic white Egyptian style waist wrap, stayed on the boat, lounging on a glass chaise lounge.

An Asian boy with rainbow irises and a slightly older man with silver eyes stopped in front of him. The two wore metallic white tunics and silver arm braces.

"Salutations human, we have permission from the renter of this dock to use it to load a number of animals. Here is documentation proving thus," Light replied politely as he handed the man a stack of documents.

"You may hold onto those until we return with our cargo," Zenchō said his English slightly accented.

The harbormaster just nodded dumbly as the two walked past him, and then out of the wharf towards the main road.

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"Where would one go to acquire horses of good standard," Light asked the taxi driver that Zenchō had hailed, in his formal English as behooved an advisor of the Atlantean Royal Court.

"Horses? Hmmm, I suppose you could get some out at the Bradbury horse Stables, but that's in a rural area and it would cost about 120 for me to drive you all the way out there and back," the driver supposed.

"That is quite alright," Light said as he settled into the odd motorized contraption for the hour ride, "I must say that humans have come a long way in the last two thousand some odd years that I have been away. Their cities sure are much more advanced than the mud and brick fortresses they called palaces in my day."

The taxi driver looked at him oddly, he was used to oddly dressed people in his line of profession but to talk about humans from a third party's point of view was rather more odd than he was used to.

Zenchō noticed this and just rolled his eyes and looked out the window.

"So where are you two from?" the taxi driver asked curiously.

"Why, Atlantis of course, we are here to find Pets for the royal family," Light answered, causing the driver to swerve a little and receive a blaring horn from another driver.

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The owner of the stable was practically bending over backward to accommodate them when they had told him that they were buying horses for the Royal Family of Atlantis.

"Our stables hold four hundred horses consisting of breeds from all over the world," the owner preened haughtily.

"Well, their majesties asked for certain colors and builds. Before I buy them, if you had pictures of each of the horses that match the descriptions, I would like to send the Council their choices?" Light asked as he scrolled down the iPad's screen, an innovation he rather enjoyed when he compared it to the tedious scrolls of his previous life.

"Certainly, we keep a profile on each of the horses on the computers in the administration office, if you would follow me."

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Eight hours later

"So how was your little pet finding mission," Sadaka asked as he eyed the aluminum trailer carrying a number of neighing and chirping creatures.

"Shut it!" Light grumbled as he nursed a blooming hoof shaped bruise on his shoulder.

Zenchō was shaking with silent laughter as Sadaka shot him a questioning look.

"Let's just say that Rikki's Pegasus to be is….rather alike in personality to its owner," Zenchō explained cryptically as he finished chuckling.

"Then we'd better hope that temper is the only trait the horse shares or we'd better expect some interesting times ahead," Sadaka laughed.

"Can we refrain from pitiful jokes and load the animals," a rather cranky Light scowled.

"Alright, but one question first," Sadaka said glancing at a still smiling Zenchō.

"Fine, what?" Light asked.

"What happened to your face?" Sadaka asked with a grin as he pointed to an odd cut on Lights forhead.

Light scowled deepened as he glared at a bright red and orange bird as it floated past him in a hard water cage, "That little demon happened!"

"Let me guess…."

"Rikki's bird!" the three said in unison, causing Light's scowl to turn into a smirk.

"Luckily, none of the others are as…volatile, as Rikki's chosen pets," Light sighed, "though until I met Emma's I didn't even know that horses could be so prissy, I suppose they really are like their owners."

"Oooh, don't let Prince Ash hear you talking about his wife like that if you know what's good for you," Sadaka reprimanded jokingly.

"Don't let his wife hear if you like your bones not in pieces," Zenchō added as he coaxed the last of the horses from the trailer onto the barge.

With a kicking motion from Sadaka, the hard water plank that had allowed the horses to walk onto the barge liquefied and the barge set off towards home.

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"They're gorgeous," Cleo gushed as she stroked her freshly merged pegasus. Having been an American Painted horse before it originally chocolate against white markings had been replaced by a deep almost black iridescent blue that flowed perfectly into the lightening blue of the teal and yellow blue Macaw wings fused into its back, "I've already chosen a name, Pelangi it means rainbow, how do you like that girl?"

The mare neighed appreciatively.

"Well, my Duchess is just beautiful, isn't she Ash," Emma gushed as she used a short bristled brush to smooth the White Lipanzer's flank. It ruffled its white wings imperiously as a large black Hungarian Warmblood nuzzled the mare's neck.

"Yeah, I just wish she wasn't making Duke act like a drooling idiot," Ash grumbled as his Warmblood finished nuzzling and dropped an apple in front of Duchess, with a hopeful look in his intelligent eyes.

The white female bent down and gratefully took the apple.

"His owner is no better," Emma flirted, making Ash screw his face up into a goofy mock drool face.

"I don't dwool do I," Ash joked pretended to stumble clumsily towards his giggling wife.

Zane rolled his eye as he happily inspected his own stead, Goliath, a Black Belgian with Magpie wings. His wife Rikki was already mounted atop her own horse, Api, a crimson red Budyonny with flame colored parrot wings. Goliath snorted disdainfully at the hyper Budyonny as it trotted erratically around the elevated platform that had become their stable and pasture.

"I still think, Blondie is the best," Bella smiled as her own yellow Balearic pony as he shook his blonde name sake mane. He had bright yellow canary wings folded against his white saddle.

"Well Batu, is the fastest stallion," Will boasted about his chestnut morab, that he had named stone in Atlantean, as he joined Rikki in her trot around the small eight horse stable. Instead of wood the entire structure was the crystallized hard water, Bella thought it would be appropriate to have a unique stable for such a unique herd of animals.

"Yeah but Pelangi is the fastest period," Cleo commented with a grin. Her husband Lewis was focused on the flank of his own, Black Dutch Warmblood that he had dubbed Mantra, as he painlessly drew on a permanent white 'brand' using a stencil of two tridents crossings.

"Rikki, before you go flying, I'd like to get all of them branded, so none of those crazy poachers can shoot them and say they didn't know they belonged to anyone," Lewis reasoned as he continued on to marking Pelangi with a yellow mark of the same design.

Rikki just sighed and pulled Api to a stop in front of him, just long enough for an orange brand to be applied to the pegasus' red flank. Will pulled up to replace her as soon as she was gone and had a black mark applied, Emma followed with a blue, Goliath took a white, while Duke took a red.

"I'll race you," Rikki called out to Zane who had just mounted his own enormous horse.

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Little Adrien and Adalyn stared wide eyed out the window; they had woken late and not heard the discussion in the meal pavilion about the pegasi. Several of the little winged horses were diving and gliding around the newly installed platform.

"I KNEW IT!" Adalyn cried out happily.

"What, what, huh," Adrien was startled by his twins sudden outburst.

"My little pony IS a documentary," Adalyn smiled smugly before running off to tell Harmony of her discovery.

And so the day ended, with only six more to go until the queen arrived.

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A/N: I am EXTREMELY sorry I haven't updated, but I am a very busy person with a very busy life and school and clubs have taken me over. I don't plan on abandoning this story and I get lots of joy from writing such a whimsical situation with so many amazing character that you guys have given me


	23. The Tale of the Painter

Sorry I haven't updated in so long once again, I've been horribly busy and had no time for the story, hopefully despite this month being even busier I'll be able to get some writing in now that I injured my knee and can't do more arduous time wasting things XD.

Thank you Calbwar, your character idea was very well thought out.

Also thank you to my viewers, according to my traffic graph, 92 people read chapter 22 the day it came out.

90 of you didn't review

): even if it's just to say a quick I like this story or I hate this story at least I'd know

Oh well read and review

Chapter 23

Callie Peintre

Her surname literally meant painter in French.

So it shouldn't be a surprise that the young, three year old girl was found sitting at a small, red plastic child's table impressing a myriad of formless colors onto a piece of paper.

What may surprise you however, is the place in which this red plastic table was located.

It was to be found in the children's section of the CDF Women and Children shelter in Sanford, Florida.

How did she come to be there you ask?

Well, her father, Bill Peintre had been laid off his job as a truck driver three months ago and had taken to drowning his sorrows in whiskey.

Her Mother, Maria Peintre, had been a happy stay-at-home mom until her husband had started taking out his anger on her in his drunken fits.

Callie had gone from living as a normal toddler in a quiet suburb to hiding with her mother in this so called 'shelter'.

But could it really be called a shelter if it didn't protect you from the very thing you are hiding from?

One fateful afternoon, her father in a violent rage had stormed into the shelter, ignoring the protesting staff, and dragged her and her sobbing mother out of the building.

By the time the cops arrived, Callie and her mother were already in the next county.

The year following wasn't terrible, her father drank less and they went from motel to motel, so it was a bit like an extended vacation to the young girl, who was now four years old.

Unfortunately neither parent was able to hold down a job and with the life savings now spent the troubled family was forced to live on the street.

They might have been fine if her father had put aside his pride and allowed his wife and daughter to stay with relatives in Georgia.

But he didn't.

No, instead he wasted the little money they had, to return to his drinking habit and the family traveled from place to place with nothing but a haggard two person tent they had stolen from the donation bin of a good

So another year passed and young Callie turned five as they traveled usually on foot, or if they were lucky on a bus after they had saved up quarters panhandling on the side of the road.

This was the year she should have started kindergarten, but her father who was growing more and more violent by the day refused to relinquish even one penny for the young girl to buy clothes or supplies. Simply stating that she didn't need an education and that she should be helping him with his scams and not playing if she wanted to eat.

By this time, if rain and wind and time hadn't weathered them away, you would have been able to follow the sad and telling path the family took, simply by following the thousands of pieces of progressively precocious art work left behind by a quiet, nearly six year old girl.

For Callie's seventh birthday, her mother, with the modicum of money she'd been able to keep out of sight from her drunkard husband had decided to leave early in the morning and treat her beloved little girl to the first real birthday she'd had in four years.

It was only ten dollars' worth, but to the deprived little girl, the forty Chuck E. Cheese's tokens that ten dollars had bought, made an incalculable treasure. She spent all but one on games and won a small stuffed tiger. She carefully hid the unspent treasure in her pocket so that she'd always remember what a great day this was.

If only it was a great day.

That evening as her and her mother walked giggling back to the Campsite they were greeted by an especially drunk, Bill Peintre.

"You BITCH, YOU TRIED TO LEAVE ME, AND TOOK MY KID!" he shouted, angrily taking a clumsy swing that her mother easily ducked.

"Bill, please stop, I wasn't leaving we just went into town, I'm sorry, you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you," Marie pleaded quietly; raising her voice earned her nothing but pain as she was well aware.

"LIAR, YOU WERE WITH THAT MAN FROM THE GAS STATION," he accused, his fist coming down and striking her jaw before she could move.

She fell to the ground, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "Please, I don't even know him, he just rang up the food I bought," Marie begged, her lips trembling as she recalled the random cashier that had smiled at her politely when they had bought their food.

"DON'T LIE TO ME, YOU LITTLE BITCH," he slurred as he slapped her already red face.

"Please, I love you…AHG," she ended her sentence in a gasp as her husband wrapped his fingers tightly around her throat, "puh- please, n-not-uhhh, in f-f-front o-of h-her," Marie begged her husband with a gasped whisper to send their daughter away.

He seemed to think for a moment before he turned to the terrified child.

"Get outta here," he nodded his head in the direction of the campsite, "NOW!" he added when she hesitated.

She remained where she was looking at her mother's pleading eyes.

"Too stubborn to know what's good for you, just like your damn mother," he growled dropping his nearly blue wife gasping to the ground.

Drunkenly he swayed toward the frozen girl as tears began to roll down her dirt smudged face.

"Daddy, please, I'm sorry," were the last words she ever spoke, as her father's hand disappeared into his coat and reappeared a moment later with a glint of metal.

"You, little girl, have been more trouble than you're worth," he snarled menacingly as he neared her, his switch blade at the ready.

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Pain.

Gasping pain.

Throat?

"Ugh gag uh"

'_Mama'_

Her eyes saw nothing as they searched the lightless surroundings.

"gah heg"

'_MAMA_?'

Little fingers searched along normally smooth skin until they found a wet, stinging opening in her neck.

"GAAAH"

'_CUT_?'

Hours past as the she laid still and the dark lightened into a grey dawn.

Black liquid showed in contrast in the dim light against her pale skin as she removed her tiny hand from her ruined throat and stared horrified at it.

Blood?

Finally able to see enough to realize that she was in the same clearing that she had passed out in the evening before, she stood shakily to her feet and began to slowly make her way to the campsite.

As she turned around the last bend in the trail she stopped in her tracks, blinked, took a ragged, painful breath and let the tears silently flow down her face.

The tent was gone.

Her mother's body lay like a broken marionette where her father had made camp.

The only evidence, that this was even the place, was the smoldering ashes of the fire.

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Two days of uninterrupted sorrow.

Two days later a hiker came across the rotting body of a thirty year old woman and an unconscious seven year old girl.

The girl was air lifted to a hospital to be treated for a slit throat, loss of blood and extreme dehydration.

The mother was buried a week later as a Jane Doe.

It was suspected the girl was a relative of some sort but couldn't verify this or her own name due to the damage to her vocal cords, making her unable to speak and as it would seem she had never had formal schooling and was also unable to write.

So she was renamed Jillian Doe and placed in a foster home.

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Miami – three and a half years later

She was ten now and could definitively 'say' that she was miserable.

This was mostly due to not being able to speak, which made it more than difficult to make friends or within such an immature group of ignoramus' that made up her fifth grade class.

In fact it was impossible.

Not a single person wanted to have a thing to do with the weird girl that never spoke and did nothing but draw weird pictures all day.

At least she was in gifted classes, so she didn't have to intermingle with the idiotic plebeians that inhabited her school except at recess and lunch.

Unfortunately, it was recess.

So once again the tiny slip of a girl with her almost elven features and her glossy brown hair sat beneath the enormous oak tree in the center of the playground, calmly drawing the scene of children playing in front of her with exact detail.

"Awww, does a cat got da wittle baby's tongue," Tina taunted, once again repeating her persistent habit of bothering 'that loser Jillian' during each recess.

Callie smiled happily and turned her sketch book to a nearly photographic quality sketch of Tina, except the drawing depicted the annoying girl with a missing eye and her lips sewn shut with terrifying detail. The mute girl smiled serenely as the popular tart ran off to tattle on her.

Making sure no one saw her; she ripped the page out and quickly crumbled it up and flattened it with her heel inside her flat. As soon as she was sure the evidence was concealed she continued on with her previous sketch of the play yard as the teacher walked over with an expertly sniffling Tina.

"And, and my mouth was all sewed shut," Tina fake cried, "It's in her sketch book."

"Jillian, sweet heart may I see your sketchbook," Mrs. Teeburn asked nicely.

Callie gave her a convincing innocent look of confusion and handed the book over to her teacher, who quickly flipped through it and handed it back smiling after having searched through a number of rainbow and flower pictures.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, you're very talented," Mrs. Teeburn apologized before grabbing Tina by the collar of her shirt and walking back towards the classroom, "Tina, why on earth would you lie about something like that…sewn shut mouth and missing eyeballs, I'm going to have to call your mother and ask what she's letting you watch on TV!"

The brunette mute sighed, a silent contented breath, before settling back against the tree and finished her sketch of the school yard.

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"OI, Mutey and the beast, move it," her foster parents' real son James removed her suddenly from the couch with his foot to her back, so that he could sit down where she had been.

Pain.

The pencil she had been drawing with had gone through her hand when he threw her off the couch.

Odd muffled hiccupping noises came from her chest as she sobbed from the pain.

"Would you keep it down, Mutey," James complained as he raised the volume on the television to drown her out.

Bringing her sobbing down to manageable level she stood up and ran into the kitchen hoping to get some help from her foster mother who was cooking.

Knocking on the wall to get her attention, Callie noticed the scowl on Mrs. Finnegan's face. She hated to be interrupted, especially by the little mute girl they had taken in so that they could collect the monthly money the government gave them for her care.

"What now Mutey," the woman used the stupid nickname her son had come up with, when she'd first came to live with them.

Callie held her hand up to show her the pencil that was still lodged in her hand.

Mrs. Finnegan's frown deepened.

"Great, now we're going to have to get you stitches and that'll eat up most of the money we got for you this month," her foster mother huffed.

Mr. Finnegan walked through the kitchen door as he heard her statement.

"It's just a little scratch it doesn't need stitches, I can take care of that here," her foster father said.

Grabbing her by the wrist of her injured hand he dragged her up the stairs and into the bathroom.

"Sit!" he ordered pushing her onto the toilet. After a moment of rummaging through the medicine cabinet he pulled several things out and set them on the sink.

"Put your hand over the sink," he said as he grabbed the hand and put it over the sink.

Turning the warm water onto it was uncomfortable but at least it washed most of the blood away.

Once again he grabbed her wrist and palm in such a way that she could take it back. Without warning he twisted and yanked the pencil from her hand and dropped it into the sink.

Without a plug, the veins in her hands began gushing in a spectacularly painful way.

The water in the sink turned pink.

"Hold still," he said as she squirmed from the pain. Before she could stop him he screwed the top of a bottle of rubbing alcohol and held it over her hand, "Perhaps this will teach you not to do stupid, potentially expensive things."

The clear chemical hit her hand like liquid fire causing what would have been a scream but was instead a panicked gargle to burst from her lungs.

She fervently tried to pull her hand away as he opened a bag of Epsom salt and began sprinkling the caustic mineral over her raw bleeding wound.

Tears were flowing like rivers as she silently sobbed.

The water turned off and he grabbed a roll of duct tape and wrapped it quickly over the salted hand, sealing the burning chemical mixture against her injury.

"Now, you listen to me, you are lucky that my family was generous enough to take in a stupid little mute girl in the first place. No one else wanted you and if we hadn't taken you then you'd still be getting beaten up every day by the other kids in the orphanage," he said as he dragged her still sobbing out of the room and tossed her into the cramped storage room that was her bedroom, "Now stay in here and think about what you've done."

And so she did.

Except she didn't think about any perceived wrong doings on her part, no, she thought about all the horrible things that had happened to her since her mother had died.

Sitting up in the dim light the light post on the street provided she pulled out the Chuck E. Cheese token that was attached to a chain around her neck.

'Mom, I miss you, I love you but I can't stay here anymore,' she thought to herself. So far having other people in control of her life had only brought pain and misery.

She was 11 and so far all she could remember was pain at the hands of those that were supposed to protect her.

So she packed.

In the dead of night she filled her school bag with a few sets of clothes, an extra pair of shoes, her sketch pad, her pencils sans the bloodied one, a hair brush and her favorite stuffed tiger. Sneaking down stairs she filled three plastic bags with light ramen noodle packets, some chips and a few water bottles.

Then hastily left the house and took to the streets.

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After two months, alone on the streets a local gang of street kids took her in and trained her up.

They still called her Mutey but now when it was said, it was said with affection by her new brother and sisters.

Her small stature and agility made her deadly useful during pickpocketing sessions in the city. She'd slip by like a ghost and in five minutes would return with five cash filled wallets.

Callie had an eye for telling who the richest targets were and emptying their pockets and taking their watches and jewelry without giving them a clue.

At the moment the eighteen kids, all between thirteen and seventeen were lounging in a long abandoned warehouse on the edge of the Miami wharf.

Thanks to a snatched shipment of paints, all the walls had been covered with intricate murals each signed discreetly by a small CP.

And so life had gotten better for the sweet mute girl, until the fateful night the police raided their warehouse and rounded up all the children.

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"Hey Mutey, I grabbed a couple cookies from Publix want one," Trace asked her as the girl munched on her newly acquired cookies.

Callie nodded and took a cookie from the girl originally named Tracy before she had run away from her own home a few months ago.

For the next hour the two girls watched SpongeBob on a stolen TV that was hooked up to the cable of the warehouse next door.

Unfortunately, the entire group of resting kids was interrupted when a wheezing Breakit ran panicked into the warehouse.

"Guys I'm so sorry I wasn't thinking and they just kept coming, I shouldn't have come back here I was just panicking and, and Oh god I'm SO sorry," Breakit, a 14 year old black boy, rambled between sobs.

"Break what happen-"

"This is the police, we know you are in there, we are entering the compound, do not resist," a voice came over a megaphone.

"CRAP!" the leader of their group Smudge a seventeen year old girl yelled, "We are the WHARFS we don't go down without a fight!" she yelled to her little group of friends.

The entire group yelled back with agreement, excluding Mutey, who merely pumped her fist.

Suddenly, the doors to the warehouse banged open and ten cops poured in guns at the ready.

"Fergot, these are just kids, I thought you said we were busting a gang," one officer called out.

"Holster your guns, we'll take 'em in and get them off the streets," the one name Fergot responded.

'NO, there was no way in hell that she was going to let them take her back to that foster h

Before Fergot could react Little Mutey signaled to the others that they had to fight and pandemonium broke out.

Taking the largest of the officers, Mutey kneed him in the groin, before dropping to the ground and swinging his legs out from under him with her own.

Jabbing him hard in the forehead the man passed out as Mutey flipped off him and kicked the closest officer in the head.

It didn't knock him out but he was dazed enough that he couldn't stop her from punching him in the kidney, forcing him to drop to the ground, incapacitated with pain.

They would have won, They SHOULD have won and kept their freedom, but despite how skilled the group was, they couldn't fight off the police officers when they pulled out Tasers and began dropping the unarmed children.

"Mutey RUN!" Smudge called out from her zip tied position on the floor.

Without hesitating, Callie dove out the first story window of the warehouse and rolled back to her feet on the wooden dock outside.

Running as fast as her little legs would carry her, she could still hear the policemen chasing her down the dock.

Ducking behind several crates, she was relieved to see one of them was opened and immediately jumped into it.

She waited.

After twenty minutes she gave a sigh of relief as she heard the officers say that they had lost her and were heading back.

Then her eyes let loose a deluge of tears as she realized that once again she was alone in the world and that her friends were gone.

She cried herself to sleep, not bothering to leave the warm crate.

0-0-0-0-0

When she awoke, it was to sounds of panicked screaming.

Remembered where she was, she panicked, thinking she'd been found by the police but realized that the police would be screaming with panic.

Using her legs she pushed the loose lid to the crate off and her heart caught in her throat as she was welcomed by the shout of sailors as they lowered the last of them over the board of the obviously sinking ship.

She opened her mouth to call out to them and when nothing came out she realized that she was doomed.

Jumping out of the crate, she ran as fast as she could across the long ship and was greeted by the sight of several life boats rowing away from her, towards a waiting coast guard boat.

0-0-0-0-0

"Is everyone off the ship?" the Coast guard asked the captain.

"Yes, all my men are accounted for, thanks for the help," the captain of the sinking ship thanked, relieved that no one had died on his watch.

The large boat had been blown off course by a storm the night before and had hit an outcrop of sharp reefs that had peeled the metal from the hull and sunken the boat.

He watched with a sad sigh as the boat finally sank beneath the water, out of sight.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The boat was sinking fast and there weren't any life boats left.

There was only one thing left to do.

So she jumped.

And it was only half way through that jump that she remembered that she couldn't swim.

She hit the water.

She flailed.

She fought for air.

She sank.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Warmth.

When she opened her eyes next, it was on a small island not even a quarter of a mile in any direction.

The sun was beating down and her mouth tasted like salt and her breath felt draggy as she coughed the remaining water from her lungs.

Rolling over and standing up, she ignored the bruised aches of her body as she walked with jelly legs to the center of the island.

0-0-0-0-0

The first day she found coconuts and it took her nearly thirty minutes of hacking with a sharp seashell on each on before she got to the milk at the center.

One the second day she used the cleaned out coconuts halves to collect water as a freezing deluge hit what must have been an island in the Caribbean.

But she had seen no plane and no boats so it must be a rather remote island.

After a week of eating clams and coconuts she learned that her agility was rather helpful when it came to spearing fish and crabs and she added that to her meager diet.

She had used several fallen branches and palm fronds to build a makeshift hut.

At one point she even decided against an SOS sign because, really, what did she have to go back to?

A bed of rags and a life of stealing for food.

No she would stay in her little exile, where being mute didn't matter because she had no one to talk to.

Two months later she sat watching a meteor shower, an amazing sight she hoped to enjoy more than once in her life.

Fifteen minutes in a rather vibrant meteor rocketed across the sky and the girl on a split second whimsy made a wish.

'I wish I was free' she thought to herself, hoping with all her might that a fairy tale might be true for once.

Then she realized that the bright meteor she had wished on had changed course.

Instead it was blazing across the sky…straight at her.

It was moving so fast that she didn't have time to move before it slammed into her chest.

She had expected pain and an end to her short miserable life but instead….she felt a warmth and the still burning crust of the meteor turned into silvery dust as it hit her. Showering her with bright luminescence.

Looking down at her chest she found the brightly glowing remnants of the meteors core fused with the Chuck E. Cheese token that was still around her neck.

Then the sand moved.

And the waves swelled.

Twisting and twirling together the thick wet earth engulfed her body and dragged her out to sea in the light of the full moon.

She couldn't see what was happening but she could feel it.

It was as if the sand was tightening around her, fusing her legs, changing her appearance. There wasn't pain, just warm, loving acceptance, something she hadn't felt in nearly seven years.

Then everything when dark.

0-0-0-0

When she awoke she was asleep in her little hut, curled on her side.

'Oh, it must have been a dream,' she thought to herself as she sat up.

Looking down at her chest she noticed that her necklace not only felt heavier but now had an orange and black glowing stone embedded in the brass colored metal of the token.

'Hmm, that's odd, it looks like a tiger's eye,' she mused to herself as she realized that she really had been hit by a meteor last night. If that had happened, did that mean that the other part of her 'dream' was real as well? Had the ocean really come to life and dragged her out to sea?

'NAH, I was probably just knocked out by the meteor and had a weird dream,' she thought to herself.

Grabbing up her wooden spear she headed out the door of her hut, intent on catching breakfast.

Unfortunately she only got a foot outside of her hut before she was stopped by some very peculiar tracts.

Paw prints?

And not just any!

These prints were bigger than her foot prints and had an addendum of claw marks at the anterior of each print.

Tightening the grip on her staff, she readied herself to stab any and all possible threats.

Badoom Badoom Badoom

She heard as the hard packed sand beneath her feet shook.

Before she could stab her obviously enormous attacker she managed to turn and then be bowled over by a heavy mass of black and orange fur.

Expecting teeth in her face at any moment she was thoroughly surprised when the mouth of the beast opened and instead of biting her, a large, rough pink tongue shot out and began bathing her face in affectionate kisses.

'Ahhhh get off,' she shouted in her mind.

The large animal immediately rolled off her and sat on its haunches looking ashamed, 'Sorry, I was just happy to see you,' a voice said in her head said causing her eyes to widen, 'What is something wrong?' the voice said again, the large cat cocked its head to the side questioningly.

It was obvious from this distance that the great beast that had attacked her was in fact a large, juvenile tiger that seemed rather playful from its stance.

'I'm hungry will you feed me,' the voice asked again.

'Are you in my head Tiger?' she asked herself feeling stupid and astonished at the same time.

'I'm not in your head you're in mine, DUH,' the tiger panted happily, 'So are you going to feed me?'

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

An hour later, both the new friends had full bellies and on Callie's part many questions. They had deplete her stock of dried emergency fish, instead of getting it fresh because she would have had to catch way too much to feed the large tiger otherwise.

'So how did a tiger get all the way out here in the middle of nowhere,' Callie asked curiously.

'I'm not a tiger, I'm a Kemala spirit, I'm quite a bit rarer than any old tiger,' the tiger boasted.

'A what?'

'A Kemala spirit, you know a spirit that is trapped inside a Kemala and sent into space so that when a Mer needs a guide to achieve their destiny, the Kemala falls back to earth and helps the Mer,' the tiger said as if it was obvious.

'What's a Kemala, and what are Mer?' Callie asked intrigued and yet severely confused.

'You really don't know anything do you,' the tiger sighed audibly; 'A Kemala is a power stone that a Mer, which is a being that is half fish and half human, wears. Haven't you heard of mermaids, Geesh what do they teach kids these days.'

'You mean like those Mermaid people that have an Island over by Australia?! I'M ONE OF THOSE!'

'Yes, yes no need to shout. You're a Mermaid and I'm your Kemala spirit sent to ensure you become a mermaid and get to Atlantis, It's not that complicated,' the Tiger said.

'Wait if you're not a tiger…then how come you look like one?' Callie asked still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that apparently she was a mermaid.

'You made me a tiger, because you like tigers and they make you think of happier times. If you liked bears, I would have been a bear, If you liked apples, then I would have been a talking walking apple, which now that I think of it would have been rather odd, but I digress. So when are we heading for Atlantis?' the Tiger asked.

'Um, I can barely swim and we don't have a boat…so never,' Callie said, sad to disappoint her new friend.

The tiger fell on his side and began rolling around making panting growling noises that was obviously laughter.

'You're a mermaid; of course you can swim,' the tiger laughed, 'Watch!'

Before she could react he head butted her right into the surf they had been sitting next to.

Ten seconds later, Callie was staring in surprise at her orange and black stripped tail.

However her anger at being tossed into the water against her will hadn't abated and she turned on the tiger who was watching her from the sand.

'You, you UGH, AHHHH I'm bleeding, help me I'm bleeding,' Callie called out as the water around her turned the red of blood.

She wasn't in pain…maybe a shark had gotten her tail and she couldn't feel it and was going to die of blood loss.

The red spread out and the water nearest to her was now the dark green-black color she had always associated with fear.

'What?' she said stupidly in her head causing the tiger to roll over laughing again, 'Oi, tiger…do mermaids bleed green?'

'Nope, you just discovered your power,' the tiger said happily.

Looking back at the water with new curiosity she noticed that it had changed to the bright yellow that she associated with curious George. The colors spread out in rings around her yellow around her body, green around the yellow and red around the green.

Suddenly a mischievous thought came into her head and she turned to look at the tiger again.

The tiger stopped laughing as it looked down at its now bright pink fur.

'Hey, that's so unfair, I help you find out you're a mermaid with powers and you repay me by turning my manly orange coat into a layer of pink FLUFF,' the tiger pouted until Callie sighed and concentrated and returned his original coloring.

'You said earlier that we'd be going to some place called Atlantis? How are you going to get there, you don't have fins…do you?' Callie asked.

'Not at all, watch closely,' she stared at the large orange creature as it bounded towards he like an out of control train.

Expecting the large animal to bowl her into the water again she tried to move away in the shallow water but couldn't…before the tiger turned into light and disappeared.

'Tiger? Where are you,' she asked, hoping desperately that she wasn't alone again.

'Right, here Callie, I'm in the Kemala, now you can swim to Atlantis and I'll be with you every step of the way.' the stone around her neck said.

'Oh, that's cool…um one more question,' Callie asked.

'Sure, what is it?' the Kemala asked.

'What's your name? It can't be tiger…can it?' she asked.

'No, I'm you're guide, you get to name me…don't make it stupid please like Sir Fluffington, I'll never be able to live that down!' he begged from his place around her neck as she pulled herself farther out into the water with her hands.

'Don't worry, I'll just name you Raj, cuz he's a tiger and Aladdin is my favorite movie,' Callie smiled as she ducked beneath the water and was amazed at the clarity of it even without goggles. Taking a tentative breath she grinned again as she realized she couldn't possibly drown.

'Eh, it's not so bad I guess. Anyway do you hear that music, it's kind of like a lullaby played on a weird flute?' Raj asked as she slowly flicked her tail and smiled at how easy it was to swim in this form.

'Yeah, I hear it, why?' Callie said as she began swimming faster and faster until a trail of bubbles was being left behind her speed wake.

'Follow it, it'll take you to Atlantis,' Raj explained.

0-0-0-0-0

Five days before the Queens arrival

The Royals and the inhabitants of the Island had seen many weird things being of a magical species themselves.

However none of them were expecting to see a new Mer racing towards the water with a rainbow colored wake and a rainbow tail of shifting colors with black stripes.

"Hail, new sister, are you here to settle?" Rohan the largest of the diamond Sentinels called out to the young mermaid whose bright blue, green and yellow haired head popped above the waves.

'I'm here to settle,' Callie answered telepathically as her cool colored hair turned orange and red. Over the two weeks it had taken her to swim from the Caribbean islands, around the tip of Africa, past India to Australia, she had practiced her power nearly non-stop and was surprised at the ease with which it came to her.

Raj had explained that she was telepathic, most likely due to her Mer magic compensating for her lack of vocals cords and that her magical art abilities were most likely an amplification of her original talent.

Rohan smiled and having already signaled the island was greeted by Princess Nuri's turquoise clad form as she opened the gates from the other side and motioned the new Mer to follow her to the Island and quickly closed the gate behind her.

"Hello, my name is Princess Nuri, but you may call me by my human name Cleo. That's an interesting power you have there," Cleo commented on the trail of changing water color behind her. The change didn't last unless she wanted it to, so the color stayed mostly around her body as they moved, leaving only a small fading trail behind them.

'My name is Callie Peintre, I like the power too, I've only been a Mer for two weeks," Callie answered not very comfortable with person to person conversation after so long alone.

"WOW, a telepath, that's amazing, and so well controlled after only two weeks that means you're powerful," Cleo smiled with approval as they entered an underwater tunnel and shot through the island until they came to a stop near a loud smatter of voices.

Following the brunette princess, Callie pulled herself out of the tunnel and found herself in the center of a large number of chattering, playing, dancing, eating and working people.

"Welcome, to Atlantis!" two small nearly identical boy and girl yelled to her as they ran passed, as they were chased by a fiery orange midge, who seemed rather irate.

"Now that you're here we have 97 sentient beings living on the Island," Cleo smiled, "It can get a little odd seeing as they are all magical and the Island itself is Magical."

'98' Callie corrected.

"What do you mean?" Cleo asked confused as they walked out of the meal pavilion and towards the randomly placed cottages.

'There are 98 sentient beings, my familiar Raj is with me," Callie corrected flicking her purple hair over her shoulder.

Cleo stifled a surprised scream, as a stream of light left her Tiger eye Kemala and formed into an enormous Tiger that immediately began rubbing up against Callie's hip.

'Hello, I'm a shape shifting Kemala guide, yes it's completely alright to be in awe of me,' Raj purred mentally at the stunned princess who broke out of her stupor at his words and laughed.

"Well then you'll probably fit in well here, because we have a lot of shape shifters. Anyway this is your cottage, we've had it set up for a while in case new Mer arrived and it's a good thing we did now that you're here. I'll let you get settled and tomorrow if you want to decorate just ask—WHOA," Cleo gasped as the white walls of the hard water crystal cottage burst into a rainbow of colors, shapes and photographic quality paintings.

'Decorating is sort of my power,' Callie laughed mentally.

"Well, then I'll leave you too it, just to let you know though, you are probably going to be in high demand once word gets out that you can paint a house any color at will," Cleo grinned before she waved good bye and headed back to the meal pavilion.

It was nearly ten in the evening and introductions of the new mermaid would have to wait until morning.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Callie dropped onto the blue and yellow couch contentedly.

She was finally among her own kind, who didn't think she was a freak and seemed to like her already.

The cottage was simply amazing with its state of the art appliances and furniture. For someone who had never had very much throughout her life, she was shocked at this change. It was often was it, that people go from living on a rag mattress, stealing food, to living in a palm frond hut, to having magical powers and living on a magical island with magical crystal house all to herself.

She sent up a prayer, thanking her mother for watching over her.

0-0-0-0-0-0

A/N: hope you all like the new mermaids and if I do a chapter for every day before the Queen gets to the Island then you'll have four more chapters to wait for the big day.

I hope this eighteen pager will hold you over and don't worry I don't plan on making the Queens arrival the end of the story…not by a long shot.

Review PLEASE the story with the most reviews in this category has about 390 reviews and it took them two years to get them. PRETTY please review even if it's just to say hey I read this story so I can try and make the top of the most reviews page…right now I'm at thirteen out of 890.


	24. The Tale of the Soldier

A/N: MickDunD: I have read each and every one of your reviews but because you haven't PM'd me or reviewed non-anonymously I haven't had a lot to work with. SO, I've been waiting and one by one collected your three separate reviews about your character and have finally gotten enough from all of them to make a character, Also to your comment about each of the characters having a sad backstory, well that is because the herald only calls those who are lost and alone and in need of a home, Mers that don't have an unhappy, sad past, well…they don't tend to completely uproot their lives from their families or tribes and move to another country.

I have no clue if this chapter turned out to your liking because I have no way of asking you about certain aspects and about whether or not my research is correct, so here is to hope and a hail Mary that it isn't a flop.

I am SO sorry I haven't updated in a while my internet is down and this is the first time in weeks that the laptop that the story is kept on was able to connect to the internet. I don't know when my internet will be fixed but I hope this chapter holds you, it's about seventeen pages long.

Read and Review.

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Chapter 24

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Spetsnaz Training Camp

Ivan Braginski

Age: 5

Weight: 34 kg

Height: 119 centimeters

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Blue

Notes: Has abnormal strength, height and muscle weight. Perfect genetic specimen.

0-0-0-0-0

Karl Karigov had been at his desk reading through a list of descriptions that had been collected. Each description was of a five year old male that had been involved with a embryonic genetic manipulation experiment.

The parents had been told that the clinic specialized in invitro fertilization.

Unfortunately, the clinic was owned by a rather unethical branch of the soviet government and as such when Yan and Marie Braginski visited the clinic, desperate for help conceiving a child, Marie was not impregnated with an embryo containing a combination of genes from Yan and Marie, but rather from Marie and an anonynous donor, that had been manipulated by the best geneticist in the mother land.

Just as the happy couple had hoped, a month later they confirmed conception and eight months after that a blond haired, blue eyed Ivan Braginski was born to two confused brunettes who loved him more than life itself.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Karl sighed as he looked back at the stack of papers that gave no evidence for anything other than young Ivan being the best of the best candidates for the program.

This was the worst part of his job but it had to be done.

Picking up his phone he requested a link to the admiral's office.

"Admiral, Lieutenant Karigov speaking, I've chosen a candidate, he is 5 years of age and fits all the criteria. His name is Ivan Braginski and he lives in Moscow…He's also the only surviving subject from the X18 donor group. Good day," Karl spoke his line, knowing that the busy admiral wouldn't answer and did not enjoy conversing with his lower downs. Once done with the information exchange, the lieutenant hung up his phone and let out a shaky breath.

He had just condemned a family in the name of the motherland.

Tomorrow morning Yan and Marie would wake to find their son's bed empty, gone without a trace.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Ivan could barely contain his excitement.

His father had promised to take him and his best friend Lukas to the pier to go fishing today and they were to wake up and get ready to leave in less than an hour.

Hopping from foot to foot with anticipation the white haired boy escaped his cocoon of blankets and headed to the bathroom to begin the day.

Remembering to brush his teeth without his mother's prompting, he quickly finished his morning business and raced back to his room to dress.

However, when he entered his bedroom he noticed a bit of a draft and stopped.

'Odd, I don't remember opening the window,' Ivan thought to himself as he impatiently jumped onto the window seat and tried to pull the stubborn window shut.

A shadow crossed the corner of his vision as he stretched his precociously long torso across the window and continued tugging on the unusually stuck frame.

Looking down at the shadow, he tried to jump back in surprise but before he could escape them, a pair of gloved hands grabbed at him. One over his mouth and the other around his pajama clad stomach.

Without a sound young Ivan was whisked from his loving home and taken to a place known as Spetsnaz.

0-0-0-0-0

"I want my mommy," the large five year old whispered to no one in particular as real anger began building up after having been stuck in a cold cement cell for countless hours.

He had bitten a man in a black and gold uniform and had promptly been thrown into this cell and told that he would be let out when he was good and broken.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Two men stood side by side regarding a monitor that showed a blonde boy that for all appearances looked ten.

"Why hasn't he shown any evidence of the strength he was genetically endowed with?" the admiral asked impatiently, his already thin mouth pursing as he grimaced.

"He has grown at twice the normal rate and the mere fact that we have kept him in there two weeks and he still hasn't broke is amazing, especially as he is only FIVE! Men six times his age have crumbled in the conditions we are keeping this child in!"

"Slight endurance and increased aging aren't enough of a result to make the amount of time and money put into it worth it, if he doesn't show tangible results soon, I'm going to scrap the project and have the evidence put down!" the admiral growled as he swept out of the room.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

As had happened the night before a tray of food slid through a small slit in the thick iron door and came to a rest on the icy cement floor.

Scrambling frantically, Ivan devoured his daily meal of stale bread and gruel and sat back, his stomach seemingly satisfied with the meager meal.

"Psst, hey kid? Take this, I know you're young but maybe it'll warm you a little," the hand that usually passed him his food tray gently placed a small bottle of clear liquid on the floor next to his now empty tray.

To cover the exchange from the camera in the corner of the cell, Ivan discreetly picked up the bottle as he handed the guard his empty tray.

Listening closely to the muffled voices on the other side of the door he was able to barely make out the conversation between the two guards.

"This is just sick, when I signed on, it was to be in the army and help my country, NOT stand by while innocent children are tortured and experimented on!," the voice that had given him the liquid said.

"I know how you feel, but do you really think it was wise to give grain alcohol of all things to a little kid, he looks what ten?" another voice responded.

"The transfer papers say five," said the man responsible for giving him the vodka.

"FIVE? You have to be kidding me; he must be one of Karigov's experiments. Poor little freak, probably never had a chance."

Physically, Ivan was far more mature than his years; luckily he was also mentally precocious. He understood exactly what the guards meant when they called him an experiment and the negative connotation of freak added onto it made him see red.

Grasping the tightly sealed bottle cap in his small hands, Ivan twisted…and shattered the glass neck of the bottle.

Shaking at this sudden show of strength, the young boy stared at his hands as the razor sharp shards merely fell from him fingers, leaving them unscathed.

Warmth, filled him as he guzzled the remaining liquid as fast as he could, almost immediately draining the bottle.

"Hey, freak? You okay in there, I heard something break," the less sensitive guard asked, as he banged on the door.

"Michelob, he's just a kid, leave him be," the nice guard amended, "Kiddo, are you alright, we heard glass shatter."

It was too late.

The second Michelob had uttered the word freak, the warmth filling the young Russian heated up until it explode in a flurry of rage.

His vision reddened as his fingers sank through the steel door like it was bread dough on a hot summer's day.

With a heave, the door was ripped off its hinges and thrown against the cell wall.

"I AM NOT A FREAK!" Ivan shrieked as he launched himself at the terrified security guard.

"Kid, I didn't mean it like I swear calm down," Michelob explained terrified from his new position beneath the oversized boy.

"Ivan, is it?" the other guard, "We need you to calm down, we aren't going to hurt you."

Bang. Plink.

A feeling akin to a penny hitting his chest and bouncing off caused him to turn and find a terrified Michelob holding a slightly smoking pistol. Its ammo, a horribly disfigured blob of metal and pink feathers, was resting on the floor next to him, its fluid contents oozing out for the numerous cracks.

"DAMN IT MICHELOV!" a now angered guard shouted at his partner, "Ivan, I'm sorry he tried that, PLEASE don't hurt him."

Clap, clap, clap.

A slow applause filled the corridor with echoes as an older man with white hair and a black and gold uniform stalked towards them with a smug grin.

"It seems that our efforts were not in vain. Come child, your punishment is over," the man said gently as he pressed a thumb and forefinger to a nerve in the side of the child's neck, causing him to go limp as his consciousness left him.

0-0-0-0-0-0

He awoke on a hard bed in some sort of an infirmary, his back burned and straps crossed him limbs holding him in place.

"I have reason to believe that the alcohol had some sort of augmentative effect on the subject, I would like your permission to do some experiments to confirm this," a man in a white coat was standing near a phone that was attached to the wall, holding a conversation with an unidentified higher up.

The man grunted in the affirmative after garbled words were exchanged, "Of course sir."

He hung up and turned to the frightened Ivan.

"Is the little boy scared? Do not worry this shouldn't hurt too much," the man chuckled, "I am Dr. Kerrigan and from now on you will do as you're told when you are told or you will face the consequences, understood?"

Without waiting for an answer from the silent boy, he reached over Ivan's back and pressed a gloved index finger to the stinging patch of skin on his right shoulder.

"Hurts doesn't it, unfortunately that tattoo is necessary, in case we find your body we'll know that you belong to us," Kerrigan snickered coldly; there was a slight glint of madness in his brown eyes.

"Let's begin shall we," a smile adorned his features in a rather unnerving way.

"We'll start small for now, a 3 percent solution should be good," Kerrigan said mostly to himself as he filled a syringe with the appropriate amount.

Ivan closed his eyes as the first needle penetrated his skin, then another, then another, then another…

The room was warm.

Too warm.

It felt like fire was flooding his veins and embers were filling his bones…and yet, the heat wasn't unpleasant.

His vision turned red as yet more of the mysterious liquid was injected into his body.

"Note: Subject's iris has mutated from blue in color to a gold red mixture, it is quite comely," said Kerrigan to his recorder, his words were sounding like molasses to the boy.

It was also obvious that the doctor was far too used to such odd things.

"10 mg of 40 percent solution" he noted for the record.

"Note: hair has changed from white blonde to blonde with streaks of metallic gold, it's a marvelous phenomenon."

The gold seeped into his vision to replace the red, giving the world a shimmering quality.

"Subject does not seem to be experiencing any depressant related symptoms from the alcohol."

There weren't words to describe the sensation that was occurring.

"Subject's veins have become more visible and have taken on a gold hue."

"10mg of 50 percent solution, at this point most full grown men would normally be inebriated."

The world slowed down until everything was in slow motion, the doctor, the needle that was about to penetrate him for the 15th time, the dust motes slowly falling from the air conditioning vent.

He moved his hand experimentally, lifting it towards the doctor to prevent the next needle, the restraints holding his hand in place ripped free as if they were little more than paper.

His fingers wrapped around the doctor's arm and squeezed in anger.

"AAAAAH."

Crack.

The sound of his wrist breaking echoed in Ivan's ears as the doctor fell to the ground gasping in pain.

Ivan ripped himself free of the paper chains and stepped over the whimpering man.

He didn't know what to do, his thoughts were fast, his movements were normal but the world around him was slow.

The door slowly opened as two guards dressed in black slowly entered guns armed.

"Put your hands on your head," one of them said in slow extremely garbled words.

No, he thought, I don't want to.

He moved towards them meaning to walk out of the room and try and go home.

Home, all he wanted was to go home.

"Don't move or we'll shoot," the other guard said equally as slow as his partner.

Ignoring them he continued his deliberate pace.

"Shit, this kid moves like lightning," the scared guard said slowly as he opened fire at the thing.

The bullets moved faster than most of the world but it was as if he was watching a bumble bee float slowly past him as he stepped aside to avoid them.

Several more came at him, he walked past them all until he was nearly at the man and one of the bullets was coming towards his face.

It was moving pretty slowly, slow things didn't hurt when they hit you.

Instead of moving out of the way he just waited for the metallic ball to come closer.

Raising a hand, he wrapped a fist around the bullet.

A slow pinging noise rang out as the soldiers stopped firing, thinking they had gotten the lightning fast demon.

The boy didn't drop to the floor as expected; he merely held his hand out and stared at the flattened piece of metal that had once been a bullet.

A hissing noise filled the room and the vents poured out a billow of clear gas.

The air seems heavy, Ivan thought as he fell asleep.

0-0-0-0

That night it was explained to him, where he was, what his purpose was and that he was to follow orders or he would face unpleasant consequences.

He was told that he was not to tell anyone his name either.

The general chuckled, "Seeing as it is Vodka that brings out your best qualities, you shall from this moment on be known as such. If you tell anyone differently, you will receive fifty lashes at the flogging post, do you understand? Good!"

He was given a private reinforced barrack, in case of an episode.

For the next four months he was trained in military jargon, codes and manner. He started lessons in English, Spanish, Chinese and Italian all of which he picked up with surprising ease.

Hand to Hand combat lessons were two to three hours every day and he was forced to run five miles a day before spending an hour in the weight room.

0-0-0-0-0

"GET UP!" a voice shouted echoing around him.

Opening his eyes, Ivan exhaustedly looked around for the source of the cacophony, to find an angry purple hued face with a tan sergeant's cap.

"On your FEET private!" the Sergeant yelled his expression bordering murderous.

Ivan, afraid of what the angry man might do, he jumped to his feet and saluted, not entirely sure what was going on.

"SLOPPY! Drop and give me twenty, NOW SOLDIER!"

Entirely confused and unsure of whether or not this was just some weird dream or not, Ivan dropped to

the concrete floor of his bed chamber and stopped.

Without further instruction, Ivan dropped back down and began pumping out push-ups like an engine piston.

"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20! Hot damn boy, twenty push-ups in a minute, you might be a bit slow in the head but, you're sure not slow in the arms. Now put these on and FOLLOW!" the man ordered as he threw a pile of gray fatigues at the boy.

Ivan jumped up, not even slightly out of breath and quickly dressed and followed the man. He was still confused as to what was going on. All he knew was that lately, if you didn't do what you were told, bad things happened to you.

0-0-0-0-0

He had followed the man down a concrete hall and out into a wet open courtyard filled with other boys about his size. His new boots were sturdy and kept his footing sure on the slick ground.

"ATTEN-TION!"

All the boys that had been lounging around the yard, about twenty in all, jumped to their feet and fell into a line in less than thirty seconds. All of them were wearing the gray fatigues.

"That took too LONG! DAMN SLOPPY BOYS! If I didn't have a new cadet to introduce, you'd be running a mile right now!"

The boys looked at him oddly; they obviously hadn't been expecting a new boy.

"SO! Cadet, the higher-ups have seen fit to give you to my care but have not seen fit to tell me a thing about you! NAME, AGE AND RANK NOW!"

"I don't have a name sir! I am a private and they call me "Project Vodka". I am Five years old SIR!"

The courtyard was silent as the Drill Sergeant stared at the boy along with the rest of the surprised boys.

"FIVE?"

"Sir, Yes, SIR! As of three months before they brought me here!"

"This is a company for cadets between ten and twelve! This must be a mistake."

"And how in the HELL are YOU five, you're bigger than Corporal Yanilov and he's twelve," the second oldest looking boy gestured at a blonde boy next to him who was HUGE for a twelve year old."

"I'm under orders not to talk about it sir, and this was not a mistake. I was told I'd be joining a company after basic training." Iv-Vodka said, after nearly five months in the facility he had learned that it was his duty to follow orders and to fight for the motherland.

"Very well. Now boys, what say, we see what this kid can do," he shouted to the boys.

An almost feral grin spread across each of the boys' faces.

Several slugged their fists into the palm of their hands menacingly.

"Sergeant Larnik, taking in consideration the health of the other cadets, I do not advise your regular greeting. It would not turn out well for the majority and I don't need anyone in the infirmary. Although, those of you who still believe you are a match for hand-picked soldier are welcome to continue."

The General finished his soliloquy from the announcement balcony and stood silently watching over the scene.

Five of the oldest boys felt that they had what it took to beat the oversized toddler.

"I say we teach this little freak a lesson," the oldest of the company said smugly cracking his knuckles.

I-Vodka felt a diluted version of the strange red-gold coloring seep into his vision.

It was as if strength filled his muscles and once again the world slowed down, not bullets to bumblebee slow, but the movements of the other boys did become discernibly slower.

"What the HELL?" one of the boys yelled.

It was suddenly obvious to the courtyard occupants that the boy was different. It might have had something to do with the sudden transition in his appearance form platinum blond hair and baby blue eyes to metallic red gold eyes with gold streaked hair.

Yanilov mustered his courage, he'd joined the company at age ten and was considered the best of the platoon, and if he couldn't beat the little freak then no one could.

Running full speed at the boy, Yanilov cocked a fist back to deck to give the kid his world famous bulldozer, it would be one hit and done.

Vodka watched calmly as the boy slowly galloped at him, he watched at his arm pulled back into a punch and as he neared his, he could see the dirt under the boy's finger nails.

Using his right hand Vodka reached out grasped the boy's wrist before leaning forward with the other and grasping his upper arm near the pit.

Moving with his momentum, Vodka flowed forward than back, all the while exerting a lifting arc force on the boy.

Yanilov yelped in surprise when the new boy moved like lightning and grabbed his wrist.

Before he could react the new boy had flipped him over his head and forcefully slammed him to the ground, knocking him unconscious.

The courtyard was silent.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

"Impressive for a new cadet of only five, don't you think Sergeant. VODKA! Have a treat."

A small clear glass bottle was slipped out of the General's pocket and tossed from the balcony at the new boy.

Before it could hit the ground the youngest boy's hand shot out like a hungry bird and snatched it from the air.

The cap was unscrewed before the crowd could blink and the contents of the bottle gone.

Vodka loved that odd fiery heat that filled his body and slowed the world. It was addicting.

"Did the General just give him…Vodka?" whispers broke out in the courtyard.

The Sergeant was confused, and that was something he didn't like to be. Oh, well only one way to fix that.

"ALL of you 40 laps around the courtyard NOW!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Shoot the damn things!"

"Agent Vodka!"

"VODKA! Alpha team is in need of assistance!"

Vodka sat atop the thirteen story building adjacent to the parking lot in which a number of black clad agents from opposing countries were fighting.

Sigh.

The com-link in his ear had been chirping demands to his other team members for the last half-hour, but it looked as if they were having trouble with the three to one odds.

Sigh.

Pulling a small bottle of clear liquid from his cargo pants he twisted the caps off and drained the bottle before smashing it on the roof, "Happy birthday to me," he thought unhappily before throwing himself off the roof.

After passing the ninth story of the abandoned hotel, Vodka pulled the cord on his base jumping parachute and slowed enough to prevent death.

Ten feet about the ground the released the pack from his back and dropped, doing a quick somersault to avoid the landing chute.

The ground where he landed cracked from the hit, but that didn't deter him.

Grabbing the first of the enemy agents by the neck, he twisted till he heard the crack then lifted the body and spun the dead weight knocking another agent to the floor with his friend's feet.

Slipping a knife from the weapons belt at his waist, it left his hand in a spin and collided with his enemy's eye socket, causing him to shout an expletive in German before dropping to the ground dead.

His pistol left its holster and in seconds the remaining six enemies were on the ground with holes in their foreheads.

"Why is it, they send you idiots in at all, if they are just going to end up sending me in to clean up after you anyway!"

"Sorry Vodka, but this is a training mission we have to learn somehow, you're what twenty-two? We're only sixteen. You have years on us."

"I turned fifteen today, do not give me excuses," Vodka snapped, any mention of his age tended to piss him off. He'd had no child hood, physically or otherwise.

At age thirteen he had stopped growing period and according to the doctor he would be physically twenty-two indefinitely.

"FIFTEEN?!"

"If you wish to keep your tongue, I'd advise you don't upset me farther. Now COME, we're heading back to base, the cleaners will be here soon," Vodka snapped as he stalked off into the shadows.

As soon as he was out of sight his fellow cadets shook themselves and followed.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Vodka sighed to himself again as he trudged through the run down portion of Moscow, thinking of life. It had become a habit of his to sneak out of the dormitory each night and watch the city he been born in.

A prostitute posed on the street curb across the road from him, calling out a proposition to him.

Ignoring the woman, he continued his slow pace down the dimly light street, oblivious to the world.

At last he reached his destination.

In front of Club 13 there was always a line of questionably dressed women and men attempting to be intimidating all so they could hope to get in.

Walking past the velvet rope constrained crowd, Vodka strolled up to the bouncer, whose eyes widen in fear and nodded to the young regular.

"No cutting!"

"Yeah, we've been waiting for hours!"

Vodka twitched a little at the sound of their whiny voices.

Turning slowly, he gave them a glare that could curdle milk, and allowed the red to seep into his vision.

They immediately quieted and allowed the red eyed man to enter the club without further haranguing.

Once inside, Vodka walked to the bar and plopped himself onto a stool.

"How's life treating you, Vodka?" the barman asked the regular.

"It's been a long night Terik, please just leave a bottle and I won't bother you further," Vodka said tiredly. He wasn't physically exhausted, that was almost impossible for him, no he was mentally tired of his short life.

"Are you sure, you don't want to talk about it," Terik asked concerned. The man called 'Vodka' had been coming to the club for two years now and mostly stayed to himself if you discounted the fight a drunk man had instigated and that Vodka had promptly ended in a flash of a fist.

"What's there to talk about? It's not like you'd believe me if I told you that I'm a secret agent for the same government who kidnapped and tortured me when I was five or that thirty minutes ago I jumped off a thirteen story building and put a knife through a man's eye."

Terik blinked.

"It's not like even if you tell the police they'll believe you because a government agency has already sent cleaners to the get rid of the parking lot full of bodies."

Terik set the bottle of 50 proof vodka on the counter in front of its similarly designated new owner.

Without another word the bartender walked down to young couple waiting to order some drinks.

Another sigh escaped his lips as he pressed the open bottle to them and thought of how life would have been if he hadn't been taken from his family.

0-0-0-0

After finishing the bottle, he wondered out into the street, intent on finally ending the painful oblivion that was his life.

It wouldn't take long, he mused.

Jumping of a building wouldn't work and neither would an overdose.

But he did know that suffocation would work.

Ten minutes of walking past and he came to a stop on a small foot bridge about 15 feet above a rapidly moving river. Chunks of ice and patches of slush ground against each other as they attempted to come in first in the watery race.

Few thoughts past his alcohol riddled mind as he thought of finally ending the pain.

Oblivion was better than being so utterly alone.

Stripping down to his boxers he placed his dog tags on top of the clothing pile. They would know what happened.

He vaulted head first over the rail and within a nano second splashed with a crack through the thin layer of ice. Extreme cold burned him like fire as the rapids bashed him against rocks and chunks of ice.

Sinking, he forced the bubbles of air from his mouth and gulped at the water hoping for the end to come quickly.

The last thing he saw before blackness took him was the blurry white light of the full moon.

0-0-0-0

This particular river was rather special in local lore.

It was said to be the home of a siren that lured men into the river, ending their miserable lives.

The thing about fairytales is that most are based in fact.

Nixa had lived in the river over two hundred years ago.

Nixa's vortex was a little known continuous whirlpool at the end of one of the river little traveled tributaries.

The pool's water emptied into an underground cavern that carried its water to a glacier valley where it usually froze solid on contact in the cold artic air.

0-0-0-0-0

Six years later

"Maria! Hurry up, if you went any slower the Glacier would be beating us down the mountain," Gerome complained to his older sister as they hiked through over the icy landscape.

It was his 20th birthday and he wanted to reach the lake at the bottom of the glacier before sun down.

After ten minutes of waiting for her to come over the short bluff of ice, Gerome grumbled expletives to himself and climbed back up to find his sister.

"I swear to god Marie if you don't get down here, I'll throw you down the glac…Marie? What are you doing?"

"Hey, I think I found something I'm not sure what it is," she said as she used her gloved hand to clear the opaque layer of snow away from the clear ice beneath her.

In the little window of clarity was the bluish symbol of the Soviet Union inked onto a flat white object.

"Gerome, get the thermos out of your back pack I want to see if I can get his thing out," his sister asked.

Delighted at the idea of possible treasure or at the least a souvenir, Gerome quickly dug out the liter thermos of hot water.

They had planned on using it to make instant hot cocoa at the lake but this proved more interesting.

A hiss of steam snarled in protest of the cold as the near boiling water ate through the two inches of ice between them and the object.

The water cooled as it continued contact with the ice and using her water proof glove Maria scooped the water from the hole before it could refreeze.

Taking her glove off she reached into the newly formed hole and poked the white material.

"It's soft, here poke it, tell me if you know what it is," she told her brother.

His own glove came off and prodded the unknown object.

"AAAH! It MOVED!" Gerome shrieked like a girl.

"Calm down, it probably loose and you moved it with your finger," Maria said reasonably.

CRACK.

The ice beneath their feet fractured out from the hole they had made.

Scrambling back from the cracks they stared horrified as the ice began moving up like a slowly bursting bubble.

Crack. Crack.

Ice dust fell away as a human figure tried to pull itself from the hole.

It's lower half was still trapped in the Ice.

"Oh my god he's alive, we have to help him," Maria cried out, jumping to her feet and grabbing the reaching hands of the man in the ice.

Pulling with all her might the man slid forward a couple inches cracking the ice even more.

His hands yanked away from hers and the ice around his legs practically turned to powder and he stood up to his full six foot nine height.

"Kalua, lapuano Malukua," the figure said, he wasn't wearing anything but a pair of black boxers.

"What?"

"What year is it?" the white hair figured asked. His eerie white blue eyes peered into her soul.

"2-2009?"

"Thank you for freeing me from the Ice, six years is a long time of nothing," he stated before turning and walking up the glacier path back towards civilization.

"WAIT?! Who are you?"

But no one answered, for he was already gone.

0-0-0-0-0

Three years later three days before the Queen arrives

"Shit! Rikki, another plane is overhead," Emma called out as the engine sounds of a small one person plane flew over the Island.

With a wave of her clenched fist the engine turned to slag and the plane began to plummet.

Will who was nearby raised his own hand, ready to geokinetically catch the plane and save the pilot above their heads.

To his surprise, said pilot instead of screaming in fear jumped head first out of the plane nearly a thousand feet in the air.

"VODKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the man yelled.

SPLAT.

The group stopped and stared open mouth as a white hair man lay spread eagle on the ground after an obviously fatal landing. He was shirtless and wore only a pair of white and blue swim trunks.

"Why, the HELL would he do THAT!" Penny cried out as she fell to her knees and tried to use her magic to save the clearly dead man.

"No need for tears," a deep voice came from the body as it rolled over and placed its arms behind its head in a lounging position, "I was just bored after a long flight."

The growing crowd of oddly dressed people stared at him.

"Name's Ivan but everyone calls me Vodka," the white hair, ice blue eyed man said.

Will accidently dropped his control on the plane still floating near them in surprise.

It landed nose first in the ground.

A layer of ice erupted from the ground around the plane, keeping it up as it settled into the hole.

"Thanks Emma," Will thanked.

"Wasn't me."

Everyone looked back at the new guy who was grinning smugly, "Guilty. Ice powers you know."

Before Emma could start questioning him a loud gasp of glee rang out.

"Plane Plaza? Wing way? Aviation Avenue OF COURSE!" shouted Rose.

She had been put in charge of naming the many crisscrossed paths on the Island. With a wave of her hand the letters appeared on the left wing of the yellow plane as she change portions from fiber glass to black metal.

The crowd rolled their eyes and turned back to the newcomer who had gotten to his feet during Rose's outburst.

"So you're obviously not human," Zane said stepping up to get a better look.

"No, of course not, never have been," Ivan said, "At least not fully. I checked the records once I got clearance, my mother was human and my father was half Giant half mer."

"GIANT?"

Light spoke up this time, "Yes, your majesties, Goliaths as they were known in my day, were ten foot tall extremely strong, impervious humanoid creatures that lived in the mountains of the Arabian peninsula as well as the Ural mountains. If your father was half Mer, half Goliath then he would have been about eight feet tall."

"Good to know. SO, when are we going to eat?" Ivan asked as he pulled a small bottle of clear liquid from his pocket.

"Is that vodka?" Ash spoke up.

"Yep," Ivan answered before taking a swig.

"It's a myth that Giants can be put to sleep with alcohol, they perpetuated that idea by pretending to pass out when it was given to them and then ambushing the people would tried to trick them. Alcohol is actually good for Goliaths."

On that note the crowd headed to the dining pavilion to celebrate yet another new brother.

0-0-0-0

A/N: Between all the things I have to do for school and social events I've hardly had any time to write what so ever. So sorry for the wait, I've been super busy all the time.

Read and Review. If we keep at it we might even beat Rech20 and her 101 ways to ruin a mermaids day.


	25. The Queen's Visit

A/N: I'm just going to skip forward to the queen's arrival because from what I've been PM'd, many people want to see what happens with her not what happens to random merpeople.

Ps it took me a while to get there but I'm finally number three on the list of the most reviewed stories in the H20 category with only one bad review saying my story was gross and inappropriate…..idk about that one but whatever, a few more reviews and I will have the most reviewed story in the category…vain, but it makes me feel better XD PLEASE continue aiding my story in the review war! PLEEASE!

Read and Review

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Chapter 25

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"There is no reason to be worried your majesty. We will have guards surrounding you every second. Nothing and no one will be able to harm you," the head of the guard informed her, as they sat facing each other in her bullet proof car.

"It's not my physical safety I worry about, what I worry about is what will happen if we offend the royalty of the island. I could start a war with an unintentional insult," the queen replied heavily. It was not as if she had a secretary who could teach her the customs of Atlantis, to prevent such an occurrence, like she had for all the other nations she visited, "Our nation is surrounded on all sides by water and we have no idea what these beings are capable of. A single phrase said wrong, and it could bring the wrath of these dangerous beings down on our people."

0-0-0-0-0

"And SCORE! 20 to 3! Australia wins the cup by a landslide!" the TV roared loudly, the cheers of the spectators resounding through the background.

"YESSSS! WHOOO HOOO," Zane jumped into the air and chest bumped his brother, Ash, who was also celebrating the win of their former homeland.

The TV clicked off.

"Wha-?"

"You're game is finished, so hurry and get dressed. And when I say dressed, I mean in Ceremonial garb not your everyday clothes," Emma ordered both her husband and brother, knowing full well that if she didn't give them specific orders they could very well show up wearing football jerseys.

Once she was gone, Zane reached for the remote so that he could finish watching the end game reports, but to his dismay the remote floated up and out of his hand and landed in Will's.

"Hey!"

"Hey to you too," Will answered with a smile, "You two really ought to get ready, we have to meet the delegates in an hour and we need to set an example for the others."

"Fine," Zane grumbled as he trudged out the door of Ash and Emma's house and headed towards his own.

Two minutes later he crossed paths with his wife.

"Took you long enough," Rikki greeted him. She was already fully dressed as she exited the very same house he was entering.

Her apparel consisted of a strapless gold bustier that was intricately adorned with golden swirls. Her flowing crimson skirt was slit to the thigh on her left side, allowing easy movement for her legs. Her wrists, ankles, forearms and throat were wrapped with gold coils set with rubies.

She was bare-foot as was Atlantean custom for the women; it symbolized closeness with the earth and nature. Her hair was down in tight ringlets that was held in place with ruby hair pins.

Once more, golden henna was tattooed in the shape of a small sun next to her left eye. Its tiny golden rays swirled out in an array of spirals.

Dark, shimmering-red eye shadow brought out her golden irises, while an oval ruby rested in the center of her gold tiara. The royal medallion hung over the bodice of her gown.

"I left your clothes on the bed so you wouldn't get lost in the closet," she grinned cheekily, as she headed to the pavilion, her focus staff in hand.

Zane headed in and quickly pulled on the golden robes that covered the obsidian breast plate he had just finished wriggling into. Black leather constituted the material of his breeches where he carefully tucked into his gold knee high boots.

The smooth ring of gold that was his crown slipped perfectly around his forehead as he in turn slipped a light mouse into his hair. Its center stone, a black diamond, gleamed from the impromptu polishing from Zane's robe.

With a sigh, Zane slipped the gauntlet of compulsion onto his hand and flexed it, vainly checking his focus for nonexistent blemishes.

0-0-0-0-0

Ash held still while he allowed Emma to secure the straps of the silver breast plate onto his chest. He tried not to think about his preference for her undressing him as she did so.

His intricate belt buckle was actually his medallion repurposed and attached to a metal belt that held up the dark gray leather of his pants which ended in silver riding boots.

Once the breast plate was secure, Emma helped him put his blue hued silver robes on as he unceremoniously used his free hand to put his crown on.

As soon as he finished, he slipped his blue mother of pearl inlaid titanium sword into its sheath and plopped enjoy the view of his wife getting dressed.

Emma, who was already wearing a shimmering strapless white gown with two thigh high slits, placed her white-gold opal set tiara onto her half up, half down pin-straight ice-white hair.

She disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared ten minutes later with ice blue eye shadow and a silver henna crescent moon next to her right eye. Her jewelry was white gold and opals hung in a V shaped curtain from her throat. Each wrist, upper arm and ankle was wrapped in white gold coils.

Her clothing was the exact opposite in coloring of Rikki's, which was appropriate as she represented the moon, the night and ice and Rikki represented the Sun, the day and fire.

"You ready to go," Emma asked her husband, as she tried to hide the excitement she felt as her plans came to fruition.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Lewis waited impatiently for his wife to finish dressing.

He was wearing a silver breast plate litter with magical runes with a red robe to cover his black leather pants. Silver arm braces adorned his wrists set with rubies in a similar fashion as the hammered circlet of his crown.

"Cleo, are you dressed yet," Lewis called out; it would be rather embarrassing if they were late in meeting the delegates.

"Coming," she answered as she stepped into the bedroom fully dressed in an ocean blue gown that gradated to purple at the bottom; it perfectly matched her violet eye shadow. The dress was open in the back as the fabric flowed down the front in a thin water fall that connected it to the skirt. The lower half was slit to her knee and flowed overly long in a trail behind her. The upper half was held in place by two straps of interlocking silver circles that crossed behind her shoulders as they attached to the turquoise cups of fabric that covered her breast.

Her sapphire studded tiara matched the braces on her forearm and wrists. The Whale-Rib sword hung from a silver belt at her hip.

"Hummina hummina," Lewis gulped as he took her in.

"Be good," Cleo warned as she kissed his cheek and headed out the door with him close on her tail.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Bella was barely showing, in fact if you didn't know she was pregnant you wouldn't even notice.

However this did not keep her from feeling self-conscious.

Normally she would have worn her signature midriff sari but with her condition she didn't want to chance it and chose instead to wear an emerald green silk dress with thigh high slits.

The high slits on a dress were an Atlantean custom that allowed women to move without their skirts obstructing them.

The gown's sleeves were delicate golden cages that twisted over her shoulders and down her arms like lace vines that occasionally bloomed with little golden flowers and ended in a rose on the back of each hand.

Her crown was a golden vine circlet that rested gently on her forehead.

"Bella, hurry up, it's time to go and I know for a fact, that it's not possible for you to get prettier," Will smiled as he took her hand and stared into her green eye shadow accented eyes.

She merely smiled as she took in the standard breast plate, robe, pant and boot ensemble the male royalty wore. His robes were dark green over a bronze breast plate, alongside green leather pants with bronze boots.

"And it's not possible for me to get a better husband."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Atlantean flags had been posted on every light post, pavilion and were held by every sentinel on the outer wall.

The workers of Glorious Rose were adding the finishing touches to the banquet and Rose was so nervous she had already turned three mixing bowls from metal to Jell-O.

All the citizens were wearing their best Atlantean clothes and were dispersed around the island per Emma's request to show the Queen what daily life was like.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Sadaka, if you would be so kind as to begin, it wouldn't do for us to be late picking our guests up," Emma asked politely, her teeth on edge as her anxiety set in.

"Sure thing," Daka replied and began moving the water in a bubble as the diamond barge submerged.

"Are you sure you want to do this Ivan, one of the delegates is from Russia, we'll understand if you wish to withdraw from the day's activities," Bella asked concerned for her friend.

"Nonsense, what kind of captain of the guard would I be to the Royal council if I hid on my first assignment and from a mere bureaucrat no less," Ivan queried. Due to his invulnerability he chose to forego armor and went only with a plain white Egyptian waist wrap and sandals. The braces on his forearms reflected the light of his diamond trident.

Being of Atlantean make and powered by magic the barge managed much better time than any Man made vessel and was ready to surface at the dock within ten minutes of its departure.

0-0-0-0-0

"Your Majesty, they are due in two minutes and there is no sign of the transport they promised. I'm sorry but this may be an ambush. What are your orders," the Captain of the Guard asked.

"Just a moment longer, Captain," the Queen replied, as the water at the edge of the dock erupted and revealed a perfectly dry diamond boat.

Two statues stood at the front holding two navy blue flags with golden tridents crossing on them.

"Quite the display don't you agree," the Queen commented to her assistant.

"Uh-huh?" was all the assistant could manage.

The statues opened their mouths, "Presenting the Royal Barge of the Atlantean Royal Council here to transport the human delegates to the Island of Atlantis."

"Impressive," the South African delegate commented with a sneer, "but I've seen better than a simple submarine," he added to his assistant who had a small smile on his face.

The other delegates from America, Australia, Japan, Russia and India were murmuring directions to their guards.

"Welcome Dignitaries, if you would please board the barge we will promptly set course to Atlantis."

Surrounded by their entourages each of the delegates walked onto the barge and stationed themselves far apart. Only the Australian and American dignitaries broke this pattern as they stood with the queen.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Each of the diamond thrones sat in a line facing the groups of humans, and each was filled with the sitting figure of a member of the Royal Council. Their exotic robes and sensual gowns were in stark contrast with the business suits and pragmatically colored dresses worn by the humans.

They looked every bit the part of Mermaid Princesses.

What irked Bella in particular was the fact that the humans seemed afraid for some reason and had yet to introduce themselves.

Sigh, it seemed she would be the one to do so.

"Greetings dignitaries, I am Princess Kusuma, and it is Atlantean custom to introduce oneself to new friends."

"So you assume we are friends then, Princess," the Russian delegate spoke up, "That is a presumptuous statement from a very bold little girl.

Rikki's temper flared at the unprovoked insult to her sister, bringing fire to the surface of her hand in a ball, she struck the deck with a loud clang of the staff in her other hand.

"And I presume your apology for your conflagrating words," Rikki demanded.

"Cahaya, please I am sure he meant nothing by it," Bella tried to placate.

"My sister is sweet and forgiving but I am not so willing to allow such a slight to pass without retrib-"

Emma stepped between her golden eyed sister and the Russian delegate and placed her free hand over the fireball, extinguishing it with a hiss of cold air, "Menenangkan diri!"

"My sister, Princess Cahaya is Guardian of the Sun and her temper if just as fiery as her element, please ignore her outburst. I am Princess Ndari, Guardian of the Moon, please allow my siblings to introduce themselves."

Will moved passed Emma and stared challengingly into the Russian's eyes while he announced himself to the rest of the boat, "I am Prince Lemah, I'd advise you remember that when you are talking to my wife Princess Kusuma, that you are talking to a member of the Royal family and a woman with the ability to destroy your countries crops with a wave of her hand."

"Enough! This is not a day to for petty squabbles or displays of superiority; this day is purely for the purpose of showing our society to the delegates of others. All of us here are adults and I will not have this turn into a childish fight! Those that wish to continue will do so at their own peril!" she directed the last part at Will and Rikki, "Am I understood!"

"Yes sister," Will and Rikki sighed before sitting back down.

"Now that, that is over, I'd like to introduce myself. I am Prince Sihir, and this is my wife Princess Nuri. We are glad you were able to make it," Lewis said as he wrapped one arm around Cleo's waist. The Russian and South African delegates seemed unhappy with the wasted politically disaster that had been defused by Emma.

"And I am Prince Lelakin, you have already met my wife Princess Cahaya," Zane said from his seat next to Rikki. He had a hand on her shoulder in case she attempted to restart the disagreement.

"I am Prince Semasan, I am Princess Ndari's husband," Ash finished the introduction for the Royal council, "This is Sadaka, our Captain of the Navy, and Ivan, our Captain of the Guard."

"Ivan, eh? I noticed the Soviet symbol on your shoulder; you are a Russian citizen are you not?"

"I was once, though I cannot vouch for the quality of my citizenship under the Soviet banner. As you can see I have found a more validating position among my own kind," Ivan said coolly.

Emma wanted to scream right now, during the short time the boat had been moving the humans and mermaids relations had gone from tentative to icy.

"Why don't you introduce yourselves," Emma tried.

"I am Aleksandr Gorbachrov, Head of Russian State Department."

"Sato Daisuki, Head of Japanese Foreign Relations."

"Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister."

"Natalia Briars, Assistant to the US Secretary of State."

"Elizabeth, Queen of the United Kingdom and its Common Wealth."

"Ahmed Aboud, Ambassador of Foreign Policy for India."

"Mikal Kerlak, Ambassador of State for South Africa."

Emma smiled.

"That's much better, now we're almost to the gates of Atlantis and I must warn you that there are reporter's so we will be submerging to avoid them. Tell me now if you are wary of enclosed spaces."

No one commented.

"Very well, Sadaka if you would."

"This barge is clear and yet I cannot distinguish how it is supposed to submerge?" the Indian Ambassador Ahmed asked as he searched for mechanical equipment in the solid crystal.

"Magic," Lewis said with a grin as the water welled up on all sides before conjoining in a bubble and allowing the barge to submerge.

"Simply Amazing."

"We are about to pass through the gate, we'll surface momentarily."

The Humans were awestruck as they looked out the water bubble at the colorful reefs.

"What are those?" the American delegate asked wide eyed as a large flash of color flashed by.

"It would seem a few of our citizens are anxious to meet the humans," Bella chuckled.

A trail of rainbow followed a silver tail.

"That's Callie, she is new to our Island," Cleo smiled as she recognized Callie's power.

The top of the bubble broke as the barge reemerged within the wall, in full view of the tropical paradise that was Atlantis.

0-0-0-0-0

Nate had been to the wall before but had never been this close to the magically changed island before. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he quickly walked after his boss the South African delegate, making sure the brim of his hat hid his face.

0-0-0-0-0

Queen Elizabeth smiled to herself as all her childhood dreams came to life in front of her eyes.

Atlantis…it was REAL!

She ushered her guards to follow as they neared a diamond dock that formed from the very water itself.

0-0-0-0

Aleksandr prided himself in containing his emotions, especially after having intentionally insulted a foreign dignitary.

However, he could not contain his awe, at the beauty of the Magical paradise.

0-0-0-0

Daisuki stared dumbstruck at the appearance of a young Asian woman who sat combing her hair as she relaxed on a boulder…she had a blue and yellow tail…

He had heard the rumors of Magic and even when his assistant had brought the invitation from his trip to the Queen's Welcoming ball he had thought the whole thing was an elaborate hoax.

Now…well within the last fifteen minutes he had witnessed magic diamond boats with fire conjuring princesses, color changing water, and finally this mythical creature right before his eyes. He made a choice then and there that he would obtain these powerful people as his countries allies.

0-0-0-0

Julia was astounded, and to think that these creatures had been living in the water off her nation's shore for years without detection.

From the look of wonder on her Majesties face she realized that the Commonwealth would soon have new allies if not close friends.

0-0-0-0-0

While this wasn't Natalie's first assignment she had never been confronted by the existence of magic and was hyperventilating as she really and truly wished that Secretary Clinton and her experience were in her place.

God help her if she messes this up!

0-0-0-0

Ahmed came from a culture inundated with the belief of magic, yet he had never seen so much evidence of it in his entire life.

Mermaids and magic.

Amazing!

0-0-0-0-0

Adrien and Adalyn were anxiously waiting on the beach for the Royals to leave the dock. They had a plan to welcome the guests.

Over the last two days Adrien had talked several birds on the island into carrying the flowers his sister had grown to the delegates as a welcoming gift.

0-0-0-0-0

"It seems some of the children wish to pretend they aren't normally little monsters," Rikki laughed as the twins ran up with the birds following them.

The multi-colored parrots landed on the guards and held their roses out to the delegates.

"They're remarkably well trained," Aleksandr commented.

"Oh, they're not trained I just asked them real nice to say hello to you guys," Adrien smiled widely.

"At least we know that even Atlantean children have overactive imaginations," Daisuki chuckled as the twins ran off giggling.

"While they do have good imaginations, Adrien was not telling a tale. He is a Berbicara and like a number of Mer on the Island, myself included, he is able to speak to animals," Cleo explained.

"Yes, his sister, Adalyn, is a Telinga, she's the only Mer on the Island that can speak to plants other than me," Bella added.

"Children that speak to animals and plants, I expect nothing less from an Island of Magic," the Queen chuckled. She seemed much freer since they had arrived.

"They are sweet children but watch out for the girl, she's a carnivore and hasn't learned yet that biting isn't nice," Emma sighed heavily.

"Sadly I am unable to tell if that was a joke or not," Ahmed commented, "I'd say not from your expression. By all means continue with the tour."

0-0-0-0-0

"What is that?" the Japanese delegate pointed up, "I didn't see it when we came in, the mountain was in the way."

"That is a statue of Atargatis the Goddess of Mer and according to our legends the very first of our kind on this planet," Rikki explained as the humans stared at the enormous mermaid, "The glowing stone on her chest supplies the Island with clean magical energy to run all our appliances and electronics."

"Magical energy?"

"Yes, Magic in our culture is the equivalent to electricity in yours, except magic allows much more efficient work to be done," Lewis answered the Russian.

"We are coming up on the community dining pavilion where all of us enjoy our meals and spend time together," Emma pointed out happily. Several of the South African group were murmuring furiously amongst themselves, "Is there a problem gentleman."

"Quite! For some reason none of our electronic devices are working. Is it your plan to keep us here without access to the outside world?" Mikal challenged, worry apparent on his face.

Emma removed her own Kemala powered shell communicator from a pouch on her leg and handed it to them.

"My apologies, only magic powered technology works here, the magic in the protective barriers shorts human electronics," Emma said, "If you need to contact anyone, use my communicator, if not let's continue the tour."

The Queen was inspecting the communicator as it passed to her, "It's a sea shell…how does it communicate?"

The golden half scallop lit up as the solidified water it was filled with reacted much like the touch screen of a phone, another of Lewis' inventions.

"Magic."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Nate used the communicator to send a message before deleting the evidence.

'On the Island, delay directive until 1400 hours, regular communication down – NC.'

0-0-0-0-0

After the different groups were finished checking in with their security teams on the mainland, the tour continued.

"Up a head is our school, the Academy of Atlantis. Where our people are educated in human and Mer histories, as well as science, magic, English, Atlantean customs and intercultural Art and Music," Emma glowed.

"How many students attend it," the Queen asked as she took in the glittering crystal building.

"It depends on which lesson is being taught, a few of our citizens have never been to school as they grew up in rural areas and there are others that are very young and this is the only school they have ever been to. Those attend quite regularly," Harmony answered as she came out of the school house. She was wearing a simple white Atlantean sari with platinum clips to hold it in place, "Others come from more human backgrounds and we teach them Atlantean customs. I'm Harmony, I teach the human side of the curriculum as I grew up with humans and my sister Penyihir teaches the Atlantean portion as she grew up in a mixed Mer/Human society."

"Sister? If you are sisters why did she grow up with her own kind and you grow up with our kind?" Aleksandr asked confused. Perhaps it was a custom to separate siblings?

Several of the Mer smiled.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding. It is merely a part of our culture; we call those of equal rank our brothers and sisters. Our society is structured much like one large family," Bella explained.

As she finished saying this, a splashing sound caught the group's attention.

The humans stared wide eyed as a coffee skinned Asian woman pulled herself out of a puddle and even more surprising; a yellow and blue tail followed her out.

"Princess Cahaya, if you would be so kind," the Asian woman asked politely as she brushed her wet hair behind her ear, revealing half a bright yellow seashell bra.

"Of course," Rikki said with a smile and a wave of her hand.

A cloud of steam rose from the girl, leaving a very human looking Asian woman sitting on the ground wearing a flowing blue and yellow tie-dyed one shouldered dress that had a thigh high slit on the opposite side of the shoulder strap.

"Greetings, human I am Penyihir dari laut, you may call me Penny," she greeted with a grin.

The twins suddenly shot of the forest giggling and ran past the group without a sideways glance, disappearing as they went behind the school.

"Harmony, if I were you, I'd go see what your children are up too…before they tear the playground apart," Will chuckled.

Harmony headed after them.

"Playground? I was under the impression that this Island was little more than an over glorified cluster of huts. Might we see what passes for a child's entertainment here," Mikal said, his insult barely veiled.

Rikki gave him a glare before Zane put a hand on her shoulder, "Of course, the point of this tour is to show you how we live after all," Zane covered before switching to Atlantean, "Emma, Rikki and I will be elsewhere, she can't seem to control her temper and we REALLY don't need a charred diplomat."

Emma nodded affirmatively.

"Where are they going?" Julia asked confused as the two started walking away.

"Our sister is the Guardian of the Sun and Light and as such has many things to do," Ash stepped in and twisted the truth slightly.

Jaws dropped when the humans caught sight of the platinum and diamond state of the art playground. None of them could believe that such a large amount of precious metal and jewels would be used just for kids to play with.

The group gasped in surprise once more when the couple that had been walking away suddenly flew into the sky without warning and landed gently on top of the statue of Atargatis.

"THEY CAN FLY!?" someone shouted, losing all composure.

All of the remaining royals turned in sync and looked at the man who'd shouted.

Six sets of eyes narrowed dangerously as they recognized his voice.

"Nate CUNNINGHAM?!"

"What is the meaning of this," Lewis lost his composure and pointed his staff at Nate, "That man is an enemy of our Nation and was given clemency on the grounds that he was never set to foot in Atlantean territory."

"Lower your staff! This is my assistant Nathan Hamilton," Mikal demanded confused as to what was going on.

Lewis raised his staff to the sky and shot a beam of red light into the sky above him.

The forest came to life with sounds of shuffling as the citizens closest to them answered the summons, meant to bring back Rikki and Zane. Rose, Sadaka and Gloriana bounded over the tall cluster of trees that separated their workshop from the school, landing agilely, while Rikki and Zane who had left them only moments before landed lightly with a look of confusion on their faces.

"Is there a problem?" Zane asked.

"I'd say so! Do you recognize the young man in the hat, next to the South African delegate?" Emma growled.

Cleo waved her hand and the wide-brimmed cowboy hat sailed through the air from his head to her hand.

"YOU!" Rose exclaimed as she tried to lunge at the man but was stopped by her mate, "YOU tried to kidnap me..TWICE!"

"Captain Braginski, Mr. Cunningham has broken the clemency and should have the foresight not to trespass on the land of those he has wronged. Place him in the holding cell." Ash ordered calmly, "Prime Minister, as he is your citizen, when the tour has concluded we would like to speak with you regarding his punishment for attempted kidnapping and assault of a minor."

Ivan grabbed the dramatically smaller man by the bicep and started dragging him away towards the large cave beneath the island that had been modified to house humans for just such an occasion. The room was nearly three hundred feet beneath the surface and if you weren't accompanied by a Mer and their aura, then you'd be crushed by the weight of the water. Not to mention the maze of tunnels marked only by Atlantean symbols. Escape was impossible unless you were a mer.

Nate tried to shout something, but was unable to get it out as he was pulled into the 'puddle' of water.

"You have no right to assault my staff, he has diplomatic immunity," Mikal shouted, suddenly aware that his chance to cause the much needed international incident had just occurred.

"He assaulted our people on numerous occasion, by Atlantean law he must face justice," Emma snapped, "We shall finish the tour, the reason this day was scheduled, before we consider his fate."

Her tone left nothing to debate.

"Alright Rose, you saw for yourself that, the lunatic is gone for now, so go back to whatever it is that you were doing," Rikki instructed before grabbing Zane's hand and returning to the top of the statue in a single bound.

"Before that little conniption, the boy you took away had a valid question. How is it that you're kind can fly?" the Queen asked, still a little disconcerted at the sudden swirl of events.

"Magic. The more powerful the being the higher and longer it can fly. Unless it has wings then it doesn't need magic, obviously," Lewis explained, "Unfortunately, most humans have electricity in their bodies instead of magic and so they are unable to."

The group merely nodded their heads, still taken a back at the fast events of the last few minutes.

"Now we are slightly behind schedule so we will have to hurry if we want to finish on time," Emma said as she started down the path.

"Sister, my apologies, while the moon is at rest the forest and the earth are not," Bella requested calmly.

"Very well," Emma said, exasperated but understood that it would be easier to continue the procession if the other were doing their jobs instead of bickering. Besides their guests would get to see the Island fully functioning, "Sihir, Nuri, you should go with Kusuma and Lemah, I'm sure our guests would love to see you at work."

The four nodded and disappeared down an adjacent path, dramatically reducing the chances for conflict.

Ash placed an hand on her shoulder to calm her as they once again continued the seemingly endless tour.

"Our next stop is the lava pits, the territory of the Kebakaran's and the Tanah's," Ash stated calmly, "Tanahs are geokinetics and the Kebak's as they are called, are pyrokinetics."

"Do you mean to tell me that your citizens are elementals?" the Prime Minister asked dumbfounded, as the US delegate scribbled notes frantically.

"Yes, even our most basic citizen has powers, we Royal's do not hold a monopoly on magic," Emma chuckled, relaxing as the tension started to disperse.

A chorus of gasp filled the air and also filled Emma's heart with dread as she wondered what else could have gone wrong.

Lounging in the bubbling lava was a beautiful young Latino woman wearing a metal brazier, chatting vapidly with a small orange man amongst the columns of steam.

The gasps caught the duo's attention causing them to look up with surprise and then smile.

"Have we really been in here that long," Vi asked amused.

Standing up the glowing lava slide down her heat impervious body and returned to the pool. Reaching up she rung the magma from her hair like water and wiped the remaining embers from the lower half of her black and silver titanium bikini. The metal was glowing red as she stepped out of the pool.

"I'll see you later Sanshoo," Vi called back to her best friend, as he transformed back into a large fiery salamander.

"What can I do for you, your majesties," Vi asked politely as the metal covering her body cooled back to its regular color.

"Nothing, though I'm sure your husband wouldn't mind seeing his wife once in a while," Emma chided with a smirk.

"Toooo, right you arrre," an Atlantean hiss came from the brush as a large snake began coiling its seventy foot long body around the sixteen year old girl.

"Nobody move, we'll kill it before it can harm you," the head of the Queen's security assured as he cocked his gun and aimed it at the snake.

As the bullet left the gun, the snake tried to dodge to the left, but wasn't fast enough as the bullet sank into the side of its neck.

"Got it," the man said as he readied to aim again.

To his surprise however his line of sight was blocked by an infuriated white haired princess.

"How DARE you fire a weapon at one of my citizens," Emma shouted shaking with fury, her pale skin took on a blue white hue and her white eyes shined as she snatched the gun from his hand and froze its molecular structure so rigid, that it turned to powder in her hand as she crushed it.

"C-citizen….it's just a snake," the guard said confused and afraid of the furious woman.

The enraged princess stepped aside, allowing the guard to see that where the enormous snake had been was now a young man being attended to by the girl the snake had been wrapped around as well as the prince.

"Wh-where's the snake?"

"OW! Stopped touching it," Cobrir complained as Ash prodded his wound to remove the bullet, the young man glared at the guard. "I'm the snake you retard!"

"But?"

"But nothing! ALL OF YOU, no weapon is to be discharged on this Island and no animal is to be harmed. There are a number of shape shifters and other beings that take animal forms on this Island and we don't want any of them hurt because you're afraid of wild life," Semasan ordered as he sent a message on his communicator to Penny. Unlike Lewis' summoning beacon that was more immediate and flashy, his means of communication was far more specific.

Moments later Penny appeared for the third time before the delegation.

"You said someone had been shot!?" Penny asked in Atlantean. Ash didn't feel the need to answer that as Penny had already dropped to her knees in front of the cursing Cobrir and began using her magic to heal him. One minute of the Brazilian cursing in Atlantean later, a bullet dislodged itself from his shoulder.

"Move it around," Penny ordered to ensure it was properly healed. As soon as she was sure it was healed, she stood up and sent a reproachful look at the group as a whole, and without another word she dove back into the puddle, obviously annoyed at something.

"Cobrir, might I also remind you not to sneak up on armed humans in that form. It was rather a stupid thing to do," Vi huffed, "AND YOU," she growled angrily at the guard that was now staring wide-eyed at the petite girl whose chocolate brown eyes were now red, and whose previously perfect teeth were now razor sharp triangles. A ball of fire had come to her hand, "Do you feel like a tough guy, trying to kill animals?"

"ENOUGH! Vi, Cobrir, this tour has been eventful enough without you trying to start a war, go back to your cottage and avoid the humans for the rest of the day, if you know what's good for you," Ash ordered, his own frustration at the day coming through.

It was times like this that made Ash worry that Mers and humans weren't meant to mix openly. Humans were just too afraid of what they couldn't control.

0-0-0-0-0

The group managed to enjoy the whimsy of Melody Way and Airplane Avenue for a solid twenty minutes without any problems.

"Up ahead is the Sejuk's territory, my natural habitat if you will," Emma proclaimed with a smile as she dropped her normally stalwart façade and sprinted along the jungle trail that suddenly cut away to reveal a panoramic view of an artic lagoon. Emma was always more relaxed when she was in her own climate.

Three human figures were up to their waists in the icy water, laughing as they energetically tossed a blue and white beach ball to one another.

The tallest of the group had a silver circlet that adorned her ice white hair, her elegant features in contrast with her hard eyes. She wore a matching silver net over a white silk bandeau.

She tossed the ball at a petite girl, with Asiatic features and blue-white stripes in her hair. A smile adorned her laughing face that reached all the way up to her ice blue eyes. To cover her chest she wore a white leather halter top with Native American style fringe edging the bottom half. Her ice white tail shimmered in the sun, as she hurled herself into the air to spike the ball at the young man opposite her.

The young man responded by disappearing into the water and immediately resurfacing in a high jump that turned into a dive as he used his jet black tail to bat the ball back at the white haired girl.

To the captivated audience it looked as if his aim was off as the ball was hurled to a patch of open water, when suddenly the placid surface broke and a beluga whale used it's snout to hit the ball in what seemed be another misaimed attempt.

Right before it hit the open water, a large emperor penguin popped up and head butted the ball towards another penguin that had appeared from the icy water. This penguin tossed it back to the white haired girl who shot out of the water to hit the ball but was startled to find that the ball was merely floating in midair and fell back to the water, her granite and silver tail smacking the water loudly.

The occupants of the ice lagoon turned towards the arriving group of delegates to see Emma, in her Royal garb, holding her hand towards the sky.

Realizing that she must have frozen the water on the ball and used it to make the ball float, they burst out laughing at the harmless prank.

"Would you like to come meet the delegates," Emma asked her friends. All the Sejuk's had a close friendship and while they looked up to all the Royals, Emma was their favorite by far.

Quickly swimming to the edge of the snowy bank, the trio pulled themselves out onto the glittering ice sheet, and looked to Emma for assistance. With a wave of her hand the water on all three of them turned to ice and disappeared.

"Princess Ndari," the three of them bowed slightly, as Mikkela greeted their favorite monarch.

"Princess Mikkela, Malina, Jayden, I'd like you to meet the Queen of England, The Australian Prime Minister, and the ambassadors from the U.S., South Africa, Japan, India, and Russia," Emma introduced.

"Princess Mikkela? Is she a member of the Royal Council?" Aleksandr asked confused. He had thought there were only eight.

"No, Ella, while she is a dear and respected friend, she is not a member of the Atlantean Council, she is the Princess of the Svalbardian Mer Clan," Emma explained placing a hand on her friends shoulder. All the royal Sejuk's were related somehow, meaning Ella was a distant relative of Emma.

"So there are more of you in Svalbard?" Aleksandr asked intrigued.

"Not anymore, the population of the Svalbardian Mer empire used to number in the hundreds. Now…now I am the only one left. My sister Princess Hilda like the others, was murdered by human fisherman," Ella said sadly.

"Don't be sad, Ella, at the rate you and Ivan seem to have hit it off, I'm sure that the Svalbardian empire shall be repopulated in no time," Malina laughed, causing Mikkela and Ivan, who had rejoined the group at Melody Way, to blush furiously.

"Don't tell me Rose has gotten to you two already?" Emma sighed exasperatedly. With the Aphrodite Mermaid around it seemed that none of the new comers were single for long.

The two answered with a shy smiled.

"Remind me to get Sadaka to enlarge whichever cottage you two wish to move into, and to get the extra cottage ready for any new arrivals," Emma smiled realizing that the herald wasn't just calling lost Mer but was also calling their mates, "We'll celebrate your mating tonight at the feast," she grinned.

Malina and Mikkela nodded vigorously before running off down the path towards their cottages, chattering about what to wear to the announcement ceremony.

Ash gave a sideways glance at his Captain of the Guard, "You move fast don't you?"

"What can I say, when I see something I want, I don't let it get away," Ivan grinned as he reached into the pocket of his waist wrap, "I carved the betrothal charm already, she grew up with Mer customs so I thought I would follow them in this case."

"Nice touch," Ash chuckled as he looked down at the clear crystal heart that contained a vein of gold and red. It was set in a silver band, meant to be worn as a choker, "I can see you had Rose help you out."

"Well of course, she's the one that stabbed me in the first place, I figured it was the least she could do," Ivan joked.

0-0-0-0-0-0

After they left the Sejukian Lagoon, the group of delegates headed past Bella and Will's cottage which was surrounded by a ivy-covered stone wall that allowed small glimpses into a back yard filled with flowers and stone sculptures.

"Where are we going?" Natalie asked quietly as a curtain of vines was held open by two crystal statues, revealing a tunnel whose only lighting was the occasional dapple of light.

"Acacia's glade, it is the home of the faeries and Acacia the Wood Nymph," Bella explained as she and Cleo took over the tour, allowing Ash and Emma a break from the frustration.

Acacia's glade was a triangle of hedges nearly forty feet tall and five acres in area that blended in with the islands foliage completely unless one knew where to look. The hedges were thick and completely obscured the light the farther one went into the maze.

Lewis and Light had assisted Acacia with a spell that made it so that any uninvited trespassers would wander down the path as if it were endless with no exit of any kind unless Acacia took pity on them.

Only Bella, Cleo and Acacia had unencumbered access to the resting place of the Fae Gate, which was also Acacia's home.

The Fae Gate was an enormous sentient tree who branches and roots made up the entirety of the Glade, including the hedges. It resembled a number of different plant species in different areas and its upper branches created an opaque canopy that didn't let an ounce of sunlight into the glade to allow the nocturnal members of the Faery population a safe haven even during the day.

As the curtain of vines closed behind the group of delegates, the tunnel came to life.

Pinpricks of multi-colored lights were now visible in the darkness, as the group's eyes adjusted.

Twisted arches of wood came up from the ground in several places and curved over their heads before disappearing into the ground and re-emerging farther ahead.

Each of the twirled pieces of wood had lights coming from them.

The Queen wasn't often known for such carelessness, but her curiosity got the better of her and, to her surprise, as she leaned in to look at the light….it wasn't just a light. The light was coming through tiny windows that were attached to tiny houses that were carved into the thick roots.

Tiny face peered out at her in surprised or amused expressions as she went from light to light and looked in on the little families of tiny people.

Some of them had wings, but all of them wore clothes that made them look very much like little animals.

"They're little houses," the Queen exclaimed as she moved to the next column and looked in, to see a little couple cuddling on the couch watching a mirror that was flickering pictures much too tiny for her eye to see. The male had tiny round ears on his head with a pointed face…and wore a coat with a long fluffy gray tail. A white version of this ensemble adorned the female who wore a tiny white fur dress. They looked like squirrels!

Moving on to the next house, the Queen noticed a turn in the tunnel and that the entire tunnel was inclined, meaning they were going up a small hill.

"How far does this tunnel go," the Queen asked, Princess Kusuma who looked positively ethereal in the shimmering rainbow lights of the tunnel.

"Two more turns in the tunnel until we reach the Fae Gate in the center where Acacia lives," Bella explained calmly before turning with a smile to a tiny faery child that had landed on her shoulder and was whispering something in her ear, "Little Alabrielle, it seems, is very excited to meet you, she's never seen a mortal before. Come on sweetheart, the Queen would love to meet you."

Bella held her hand up to her shoulder to allow the tiny creature to flit to her hand, where it quickly hid behind her fingers, its glinting little eyes peeking curiously over her finger tips.

"She's only four years old so she's a little jumpy but I think if you're calm enough and just hold your hand steady she'll stand on your hand," Bella instructed as the Queen stood awestruck with her hand out.

The tiny faery child was only 2 inches tall which was normal for the race of tiny people but astounding to the wide-eyed Queen of England.

"Does it speak English?" the Queen asked.

"She and no, she speaks Atlantean like all Faeries do, it sounds quite a bit like bells when they speak," Bella corrected gently.

"Bells? So the story of Peter pan is correct on Mermaids and Fairies so far," she chuckled as the tiny child shook glittering powder from her wings and smoothed the purple petals of the flower she wore as a dress.

"The story of Peter Pan is actually a part of our culture as more than a bedtime story. To us, it is history. Jim Barrie and his little brother and older sister met Peter Pan. He was the fourteen year old Mer prince of an Island that used to be in the Netherlands. "

0-0-0-0-0-0

1904

His accent was often hard to understand and he occasionally started speaking in a strange language, with a small bird woman, but who was she to complain when a magical flying stranger landed on the sill of her window, and offered to show her a land of wonder and beauty beyond compare.

Her name was Kendra Barrie and she was currently being pulled by her hand into a sea of lights along with her two brothers James and Mitchel.

The handsome redheaded boy flashed a brilliant smile at her as he pushed her through the glittering portal to the Island of Kecantikan that floated off the coast of Netherland.

0-0-0

As they flew through the gravity free tunnel of lights he made sure to instruct his new friends to head toward the second light on the right or they would end up at the wrong destination.

Exiting the tunnel, the quartet landed on thick fluffy clouds that astoundingly held their collective weight.

"Stay here, I'll go tell the boys to set up a place for you to sleep," he explained as he shot off the cloud and soared towards a large gnarled looking tree at the top of the island.

Sitting alone on the cloud the siblings took in the vast ethereal landmass and were astonished to see that there were in fact entirely different climates on certain portions of the island.

"What is this place?" Mitchel asked as he clutched his toy bear.

"Peter said…he said it was a magic island in Netherland," Kendra tried to remember the harshly accented words of her handsome new friend.

"Neverland?" Mitchel tried to repeat. The comparatively large world caused the nearly four year old boy to struggle.

"No, Neth…Well, I suppose in a sense it is a Neverland, a place where things we thought could never happen, do," John almost corrected before falling into his own thoughts as he looked out over the island to a brightly lit and rather tropical looking lagoon.

A number of brightly colored mermaids were sunning their tails as they sat on rocks brushing their hair.

In the opposite lagoon was a majestic ship, made of dark wood, swarming with the dirtiest swashbuckling pirates he's ever laid on eyes. Granted that he'd only ever seen them in picture books.

Kendra was absolutely captivated by the glittering glade of tree's where tiny shining lights flitted from tree to tree and swirled around a number of wood colored women with flowing green hair that danced naked around a spring.

"The boys are setting to work fixing up your rooms," Peter explained as he popped through the cloud behind them, "grab hold of me and I'll take you there."

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"From the self-updating scrolls in the Treasury, we know that by all accounts the story was quite detailed and close to what actually happened until the end. Then it is our understanding that to protect the Island and his family from recognition, when James returned to London, he changed the names in the story and made it a moral to all children that you had to grow up one day. Of course he was really just bitter on that point that he was the only one of the three siblings that did not have enough Mer in them to make the change.

What really happened was Kendra and Mitchel stayed on the Island.

In the end Kendra married Prince Peter and Mitchel married a human girl whose Atlantean name roughly translates to Tiger Lily.

From our understanding the Island of Kecantikan still exists to this day under the rule of Peter and Kendra's children.

Unfortunately, we have been unable to locate it because the Island is under the same protection as this one and cannot be seen from satellite. It also moves from place to place via Portals that we have yet to be able to track," Bella finished the short history of Pulau Kecantikan Melangkah, the Isle of Wandering Beauty.

As she told her story the other delegates had gathered around, mesmerized by the fact that their childhood dreams were coming to life.

"Now, let us continue Acacia is waiting for us up ahead," Bella requested as she turned and headed further into the tunnel of shimmering lights.

Despite being adults of at least 30 years of age, if not substantially more, all of the delegates were whispering to each other over the story. It seemed that upon arriving on the island, where no cameras were waiting to film their every movement, they felt a great deal freer in their actions and childlike wonder.

The next two turns in the tunnel brought progressively bigger and more opulent faery houses, until they finally reached the end and noticed a light coming from a gate in the tunnel.

Tiny men with insect wings played a fanfare on tiny trumpets as a lattice of vines untangled themselves to allow the group entrance into the center of the glade.

As they crowded into the room a single beam of light streamed through a small break in the canopy of the enormous tree, and illuminated the entire enclosure of plants.

Instead of walls, it had twenty foot high walls of thick impenetrable hedges that made a triangle perimeter.

Random arches and swirls of snarled roots protruded from the ground in different places and ended in points fifteen feet in the air, each one wrapped in a coil of vines, and adorned with nearly translucent white flower buds.

At the furthest vertex of the triangle from the entrance, there stood the trunk of an enormous and very odd tree; the very same tree that made up the numerous flowers, hedges and arches that composed the canopy of the glade.

Carved into the tree was an intricate throne, upon which sat a wooden statue of a young green-haired woman with her eyes closed.

"It's beautiful," the young American secretary whispered in awe.

"Thank you," said the statue as a portion of the canopy moved aside to allow a bright beam of light to shine onto the wooden woman, whose eyes were now open. Effervescent green irises filled the whole of her eyes, much like a cat's.

"This glade is my home and my masterpiece. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Acacia, Guardian of the Fae."

Acacia made a coaxing motion with her hand causing a large root to pull itself from the ground and slither through the grass as if it were a sea serpent diving in and out of water. It did so several times before it settled, leaving seven small arches of wood at a level of height optimum for sitting.

Understanding her silent invitation, each of the delegates sat on one of the offered seats and wondered what the pool of water between them was needed for.

"As you are new visitors to this place, you are unaware of a certain fact. The fact that the pool before you was created by mixing water from the fountain of youth, faery dust, a crushed sunstone and the sands of time; thus giving those who know how to use such a thing, a view of the past, the present and the future."

"You can see the future?!"

"To some extent, to use it to its full potential, an Oracle Mer is needed and according to the pool she will not arrive for another week," Acacia responded calmly, "Today the pool will be used to show you the beginning of this world as it is was told to us by Atargatis, the first daughter of the Infinite Ocean, Samudera Tak Terbatas. Please, do not interrupt while I show you this, my control is tentative at best."

The group stared silently into the glassy blue pool as it began to churn and swirl with color, leaving the surface smooth as a mirror.

Acacia began to explain the story as it unfolded before them, the sounds and words of the past rustling through the glade as the magic filled the air.

"Before the world was as it is today, it was world was divided. "

"Divided along the lines of the elements.

Water, Air, Earth, and Fire.

They were the first children of the creator, gifted to certain each world of the cosmos, to create harmony.

However, instead of working together to achieve this harmony, fire sought to undo all that was in a fit of anger."

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The elements were not as we think of them today.

They were not cold inanimate things.

They were beings of great power and beauty.

Unfortunately, upon their arrival to the barren wasteland that was the planet we know as Earth, Fire was angry.

Angry that unlike their other brethren, who he assumed had been sent to paradises to live as gods, they were forced to live on a desolate rock.

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Matahari, the original fire of the cosmos, was true flame in body and temperament.

Realizing that he was going to live for eternity on this world, with no comfort or company other than the elements, he roared with anger and began to melt the planet he was sent to protect.

The others, upon seeing that the world they were duty bound to protect was being destroyed, immediately to fight against their angry brother.

But only Matahari's sister, Batu Pertama, the First Stone, had any power. For there was no air or water for her desperate siblings to utilize.

So with steely courage, Pertama battled her enraged brother, hoping to settle him before the newborn universe was destroyed in his fury.

"Do you not see, Sister, our creator has punished us with eternity upon this useless rock," Matahari bellowed, causing volcano's around the world to spew molten lava and clouds of burning gas, "We were told our purpose was to rule over a system of worlds, and instead we are sent to babysit rocks!"

"Brother, I beg you to listen to reason! We were not deceived! Father sent us to create not to RULE! You see endless wastelands, I see endless possibilities! PLEASE Brother, calm yourself –"

Angin, the First Wind, blasted his brother angrily with the searing gas the volcanoes had released.

As a Being of True Heat, Matahari, merely laughed at his brother's futile attempt to attack him.

"Do you really think hot air is going to harm Fire?!"

"The heat will not be your down fall, but you have forgotten brother in your short-sighted rage, that I am the Wind and the Wind makes the flame burn hotter!"

"I fail to see this as a problem! Is this way your way of saying you will join me in the destruction of this useless place?"

"No brother, it is my way of saying good-bye, you are too consumed by your rage and vanity to realize that you have brought about your own demise!"

It was at that moment that Matahari realized the gases his brother had him with him were combusting on contact with his fiery body.

"You have betrayed me! I am your Brother and yet you seek to kill me?!"

"No brother, you have betrayed us, as well your sacred duty! You existed but a single day on this planet and you condemned it. Condemned it, as you forgot the very reason for your existence! You are but one physical manifestation of yourself! Do you not feel each and every one of your counterparts, burning as you burn, dying as you die! Each of your incarnations forgot in your earnestness to raze the universe, that your duty was not to destroy but to create! Instead you chose to attack us, your own siblings, in your uncontrolled rage!"

Realizing too late his mistake, Matahari cursed his father for creating him with such a volatile nature, he was merely doing what fire was supposed to, consume, conquer, and destroy.

A voice floated across the newly formed winds, "You are who you need to be, your sacrifice is necessary to fulfill the very destiny you were created for."

He felt his body become lighter and lighter as Angin used all his strength to push his brother from the world.

The siblings stood holding each other as they watched their brother and his trillions of counterparts light up the previous dark sky as this very occurrence happened across the universe.

Bigger and bigger, Matahari became, until his own gravity froze him in place and caused the worlds to spin like tops as they twirled around him.

He was Matahari, and he was Bercahaya, he was the Sun, he was each and every sun, he was the Starlight of the Heavens.

He realized that THIS was his destiny! That THIS was what he was created for. To light the universe, not to burn it, and with this knowledge he was content as his consciousness dispersed.

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With their brother's light warming the planet, the remaining siblings put aside their grief and began the work they were created for.

Sacrificing their bodies to their destinies, each of the siblings spent the endless millennia molding and changing the earth to create a paradise.

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Pertama Batu sat basking in her brother's light as she contemplated the world around her.

It was beautiful to say the least, her sister Samudera Tak Terbatas, the Infinite Ocean that was the ocean of all worlds, lay lazily over the smooth world of stone, in a shallow layer of water.

Angin breezed across her face in greeting as the sisters lay stagnant.

And so they stayed, the universe rested for thousands of year.

Yet, this peaceful existence did not seem enough.

Pertama did not understand.

Had they not done as the Creator had asked?

They had shaped the world into a pristine paradise, and yet the world still felt wrong to her…it felt…empty.

How was it that a world filled with air, water, earth and the subtle heat of her brothers light be empty?

Perhaps it was because, even with her brother and sister to talk to, Pertama Batu was lonely as she contemplated her existence.

And the as she changed as she realized the truth.

She was Dunia now, the earth itself, she was every earth, every piece of soil everywhere in the universe, and yet still she was alone.

Was it because she was cold and lifeless even with Matahari's best efforts?

She knew the helplessness, her brother had felt before his ascent, and rage filled her.

So many questions!

Was there father so heartless as to leave them alone in the universe, with lies of pretended importance, false destiny of molding worlds?

Why were they shaping these worlds that were to lay empty for all eternity?

What did it matter if a lifeless world was ugly, cold and barren of beauty if it was to remain empty!?

Fury filled Dunia as she shattered a small barren planet, a piece of herself, and sent its remains spiraling out in a belt.

Gouging tremendous furrows in the planet, Dunia sobbed dryly as her sister Samudera tried to comfort her.

Pulling herself together from the nearest planets, Samudera unwittingly left them to the heat of Matahari, baking them beyond repair as she concentrated on her sister.

"Sister, what is the meaning of this, you are destroying all our work!" Samudera cried out, horrified as Dunia created towering mountains and colossal valley's in her tantrum.

Dunia's response made the worlds across the cosmos shudder with her anger.

"Matahari was right, Father does not care for us, he lied, and we are fools for believing that we had importance!"

"DUNIA!? It is not our place to question Father's actions. You forget that he is the very reason we exist!" Samudera shot back, her own body was weak and moldable compared to her sister's solid body and each blow Dunia dealt the cosmos, caused her to tremble and disintegrate a little more.

"You are going to destroy everything!"

"If it ends this eternal damnation then SO BE IT!" Dunia shouted angrily.

Knowing what it would cost her, Samudera mustered every ounce of power she had in her existence and called upon her brother as she wrapped her body around her sister and shattered the very essence of the siblings, as pieces of worlds were shot into the heavens and created moons and asteroids.

The life force of the four combined, leaving inanimate husks, as it showered down over the cosmos, concentrating and accumulating on the first world in each solar system that each incarnation had first landed on.

Those special worlds changed and morphed once again as the elements combined and their life forces in turn created life.

Earth and water combined to create countless tiny forms and shapes which were given consciousness by the remains of fire and breath by air.

With the last of their consciousness, each element reformed as a lesser being.

Earth gave birth to Adam and Eve, who were to care for the plants and animals of the land that had been created in the battle.

Air gave birth to the Peri, the precursor of the Fae, who were of the air and never touched the earth or water.

Water gave birth to Atargatis, the first mer, and filled her with knowledge and compassion for the cosmos.

Dunia and Samudera, coalesced into one being and settled into the moon that had been created in the formers rage. Settled and watched as their children struggled and then thrived.

The elements were content as they watched their progeny live and give birth to more life before dying themselves.

It was the start of the cycle of life.

The creator had known all along, they realized, that free will was the only way to reach such beauty. He had created them and in turn they had created the very thing he had wanted.

Life.

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Over time the children of the elements lived and loved and merged, creating all new species.

Atargatis' son Poseidon fell in love with a pretty Perian named Titania and in turn their children, the first of whom was Venus, mixed with the descendants of Adam and Eve and created the Mer race much as it was today.

In the water, they possessed a Atargatian form and on land, a Human form.

Several thousand years passed and the beings separated and built up their own civilizations, cultivating the world as they did.

However, the humans quickly became jealous of the Mer and the Fae, who each possessed long lives, spiritual beauty and magic, while all but the rarest of humans did not.

Lead by N'te Cun Ing, a descendant of Cain through his mother and a mage gifted by the Mer through his father, a war was started.

Humans were not as advanced as the Mer but they had a barbaric ferocity unique to their species.

With dark Magic and extraordinary numbers the humans nearly succeeded in wiping out the Mers, before they realized that they had been tricked into killing the peaceful species and in an act of retribution killed their leader

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The delegates stared open-mouthed and wide-eyed as the story came to an end, the picture in the pool frozen on the masked face of N'te Cun Ing, as he stood snarling over the very familiar bodies of the Atlantean Royal Council of old.

"T-they're you?! HOW? How are you here if you died two thousand years ago!?" the African delegate cried out in surprise as he stared at the lifeless bodies of the very people he had spoken to early this very day. Two of which were standing in front of him.

"It was our responsibility to rebuild our kingdom, so we sacrificed our lives so that we could return at a point when N'te did not exist," Princess Kusuma explained quietly as tears brimmed in her eyes from seeing the end of her beloved city.

"You were pregnant?" the Queen asked quietly, causing the rest of the delegates to look back at the picture and really take in the fact that the woman standing before them may look young but she was over two thousand years old and as a leader had sacrificed more than any of them combined.

It was sad to say the least, to watch the friends die, but it clutched at the hearts of those watching as Bella knelt the edge of the pool and ran her finger across the face of her dead husband's image.

She suppressed a shudder as a tear rolled down her face and into the pool, causing the picture to suddenly start moving again.

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N'te growled angrily as he realized what ritual the Council had performed. It infuriated him to know he could not truly bring about the end of Atlantis until the souls of the Council were destroyed.

What was worse was that his army had witness the massacre of peaceful men, women and children. Not the justified death of killers and monsters as their Leader N'te had sworn the Mer were.

This realization was enough to shake off the last vestiges of his magical control over them.

By the angry shouts of men cascading from the hall, N'te knew he had little time to act if he truly wanted to bring about the end of his hated foes the Mer.

Pulling all the magic he had stolen from his grandfather and the other mages he had come across, N'te yanked his soul from his body and hurled it into the cosmos with a detailed spell to connect it to the departed souls of the Council.

The soldiers stormed the room and grabbed their former leader, ripping the mask from his face to reveal the face of the dying man, who was coughing up blood from the violent removal of his soul.

A face that looked very much like one Nate Cunningham.

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"WHAT!? Why did the pool not show this before?!" Kusuma cried in despair.

"I-It's that man you arrested earlier…h-he's the one that did this?" the Prime Minister yelled but was interrupted as the pool began to move again.

Violent flashes of color and images swirled before them before they slowed down to reveal the recent past.

It showed Nate Cunningham using the communicator Ndari has allowed the delegates to use.

'On the Island, delay directive until 1400 hours, regular communication down – NC.'

The picture sped up again, this time several hours into the future, where the sun was two hours past high noon and a shining white missile was hurtling towards the Island.

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"Stay here! The Council will deal with this!" Bella ordered as she grabbed Cleo and disappeared into the water tunnel at the opposite vertex of the glade.

She had to find Will!

Bella cursed herself for forgetting being so careless and leaving her communicator in the cottage.

Shooting off towards the Gem Beach she separated from Cleo who was going to get Lewis.

Faster than the eye could see, Bella shot out of the tunnel, hardened and disintegrated the water from her body.

"Will! There's a missile coming at us NOW!" Bella shouted.

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Cleo pounded frantically on the force field at the edge of the magic circle that Lewis used to keep sound and other interruptions out.

Upon seeing his flustered wife, Lewis dropped the barrier.

"What's the matter? One of the delegates get snippety with you?" Lewis joked.

"This is serious! The Pool says that there is a missile heading to the Island NOW!"

Without further ado, Lewis activated his flight bands and shot to the top of the statue of Atargatis, his summoning beacon filling the air for the second time that day.

Within a minute the entire Council was gathered confused on the top of the statue.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked worried, "Where are the delegates? Did something happen to them?"

Lewis just conjured a telescope and pointed out to sea, his expression heavy.

Emma grabbed it hurriedly and stared out at the sky over the open ocean.

Rapidly approaching the Island was an unmistakable missile.

Emma took a breath as she began the problem solving process she was so famous for.

"What should we do?" Lewis asked.

"About what?" Ash asked confused.

"There is what looks to be a nuclear warhead coming at the Island," Lewis replied.

The group exploded into questions.

"SHUT UP! This will be hard enough without your bickering," Emma yelled, "Now, Will and Rikki, I need you to go get the Tanah's. Cleo and Lewis, I need you to go get, Gloriana, and Rose. Meet back here in three minutes. MOVE IT PEOPLE!"

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Nate couldn't believe how badly he had screwed this up.

He was supposed to be off the Island by now with the excuse that he wasn't feeling well and then the missile would destroy the Mers and the delegates and make it look like it had been the Mers all along.

Then humankind would hunt down every last one of those disgusting fish people and he'd finally get his revenge!

That thought made Nate stop for a second.

What revenge…he had started this to get famous…hadn't he?

Pain filled his head as memories inundated his cracked mind.

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"Why won't you save her, you have magic. Give her back to me PLEASE!" the twelve year old N'te begged as he brought the body of his dead mother before the Atlantean Royal Council.

They were known for healing people on their death beds and doing deeds of great generosity for complete strangers.

"Death is not something we would reverse, even if we could. It is a part of the circle of life and without it there can be no life. I'm sorry there is nothing we can do for you," Luru tried to let the young boy down gently. He could see that this was a child with anger in his heart and a hatred of the world that had been so cruel to him.

"You CAN save her, you're just selfish. You think because you're Mer and you have Magic that you can look down on humans. Well I swear to you now that you are going to regret crossing me!"

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More memories spilled into his mind.

This time they were of him as a grown man.

He was nearly twenty and had already killed three mages to steal their magic and activate the power his grandfather had bound within him.

Just thinking of his grandfather brought feelings of rage to the surface.

His so righteous Grandfather, who had said he saw evil in N'te and that he was not worthy of harnessing magic.

If he had not done that, if he had trained him instead, then N'te's could have protected him mother, the only good thing to ever happen to him and she would not have been killed by that man.

No, not a man, it had been a giant.

An angry giant, bellowing in a strange tongue, had broken into their home and searching for something.

Knocking thing over until it found his mother and killed her with a blow to the head and then left without finding whatever it was that it had been looking for.

He hated the Giant and had tracked him down and killed him succinctly at the age of sixteen. But no, his hate lay with his Fish-loving Grandfather and those fish people who refused to save his mother.

They had power! They could move mountains, part seas and call lightning from the sky and yet they refused to give him this one little thing.

And so he had tricked a mage into undoing the bind on his magic with a story of his evil grandfather binding him to keep him from ever becoming more powerful than him.

The mage has tears in her eyes sat the end of the story and had willingly removed it from him, only to have him turn on her the moment she finished and use a talisman to suck the magic from her.

Removing magic from a human in so violent a manor means a slow and painful death.

And so with a smile on his face at the new power he held, N'te left the pretty woman in an expanding pool of her own blood.

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In his new life, Nate Cunningham was not an evil person.

He was misguided, occasionally cruel, but mostly immature.

Guilt for the massacre he had caused filled him.

And to think, he had been about to cause more needless death.

At that moment he was once again that twelve year old boy, crying over his mother's body.

She had always tried to teach him right from wrong, but he had never listened.

She would never have wanted him to become this monster.

Without the corrupting force of the dark magic addling his mind, he was finally able to come to terms with his actions.

"I'm sorry mother," Nate whispered to himself and tears rolled down his guilt stricken face.

Standing from his place in the corner of his cell, Nate walked despairingly to the pool of water he had been brought through.

Nate slowly eased himself in and before he could change his mind the strong current sucked him into the tunnel.

The painful lack of air in his lungs didn't bother him as darkness narrowed his vision and the extreme pressure of the water turned his body to the consistency of Jell-O.

Drowning in the very tunnels of the people he had wronged was almost a kind of poetic justice.

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"We need you two to concentrate, the Tanah's are only going to be able to slow it down, so before it impacts we need you guys to turn the nuclear portion into something harmless," Emma ordered as Will, Yoshi, and Zenchō worked together to slow the momentum of the enormous speeding object.

"Uranium is a very unstable element, we'll try our best, but no promises," Gloriana said as she turned to Rose, "This will work better if we are both trying to change it to the same thing."

"Agreed, how do you feel about gases? I have a feeling they'll cause less damage," Rose smiled.

"Good idea, If we turn it to carbon dioxide, it'll smother any sparks in the firing mechanism."

"On three?"

"On three!"

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

The tanah's felt the object lose momentum as it suddenly lost half of its weight and come to a stop a quarter of a mile from the Island.

"Bring it in gently, I want to see if we can identify who sent it," Emma ordered as her skin, which had turned icy blue in her anger at the attack, returned to normal.

Once the missile was benignly resting on the floor of the main pavilion, the delegates were retrieved.

"I am sorry to say this, but the day's events are over. This attack has opened our eyes to a very real threat. One that needs to be dealt with immediately. The barge is waiting for you."

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Once all the delegates had left, including the Prime Minister who had taken Nate's body with her, the council gathered for a public meeting in the Community Pavilion.

Ivan, who was an expert in military wares had identified the model of missile as belonging to a terrorist affiliated nation in the middle east known as Yemen.

Apparently, the cult responsible had commandeered a fishing ship, killed the crew and used the boat as a low range missile base.

After the missile was intercepted, a small team of Sejuk's and Kebak's swam out and found the boat littered with a dozen lifeless bodies whose lives were ended by voluntary cyanide capsules.

Later that evening the people of New Atlantis gathered in the Pavilion to listen to the Council's address.

"Today, our Nation was threatened in a way, we as a people had not anticipated. As a peaceful people, we forgot that there are those out there that hate for the sake of hating," Bella began, the plants of the Island rustling in the distance as she held back her bridled rage.

"Hatred that has the ability to destroy us, if we do not take action now and protect ourselves," Emma continued, her quiet anger dropping the air outside the gates below freezing.

"Most of us grew up alongside humans, as humans, even LOVING humans. So we understand that what we are going to ask of you may cause inner conflict," Will carried on, the earth trembled, sending angry waves crashing against the shores of Australia and Indonesia.

"Be that as it may, we would be fools to think each and every human will stand by our side," Zane added.

"We ask those of you who are able, to fight for our ways, our freedom and the lives of your brother and sisters!" Ash lamented, the tides crashing angrily against the outer walls of the Island defenses.

"With the PRIDE of Atlantis, we asked that you stand with us and seek retribution!" Lewis shouted, magic permeating the air.

"RETRIBUTION! For the Atlantis of the Past, and for the sake of the Atlantis of TOMORROW!" Cleo exclaimed, the winds howling, as the anger of the Council grew in force at almost losing their beloved city once again.

"We as a People need to stand strong and united if we are to survive. We need to bring the fight back to those who wish to harm us. We NEED to teach the world that just because we wish for peace does NOT mean we will stand for violence against us. For we are Mer and THIS. IS. ATLANTIS!" Rikki ended in a growl as the torches lining the columns of the pavilions burned white, their flames licking the ceiling.

Each and every man, woman and children stood and shouted their agreements. Pledging their lives to fight for Atlantis and for any beings that could not fight for themselves.

The clamoring promises of the Mer reached the Herald as it hovered above the island, calling to lost Mer, the world around.

And the Herald awoke, sensing a very different need than the one it was currently being used for.

Glowing brighter and brighter with every pledge, the Herald finally emitted a beam of light high into the heavens.

This beam sent a call of need to every Atlantean, every Fae, every magical being willing to serve and protect the ways of peace that had been sought from the beginning of time.

And so came a change in the world.

Where before there was stagnation and a lack of will, there was now a driving force.

A force whose sole purpose was to bring about peace and harmony between all the beings of the world.

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PHEW! This took FOREVER to write! Nearly 14,000 words long and is forty pages. Sorry it took so long but I had writers block, school and clubs that like to steal my time without asking.

This story is not over people :D in fact This was only the beginning!

(The below is the summary of the next part of the Story do not read if you don't want any hint of the plot)

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT STORY NOT OVER SPOILER ALERT DON"T READ MORE IF YOU DON"T WANT TO KNOW SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

Part two will be the Revealing of the conflict and the organization of the Magical Nations to fight the prejudiced humans that wish to wipe out the Mers once more and keep humans as the only intelligent life on the planet.

Part three will be:…JK gotta read the second part before you find out the end of the story ;)

Hoping to make this story 200k to 300k long and to break the review record and make this story the most reviewed H2O story of all time. Shouldn't be hard if everyone reviews at least once…I mean come on guys my View chart says my story has been read by twenty thousand different people can a couple hundred of you be really awesome and leave a review of Hey thanks for taking your free time and writing this story for the enjoyment of complete strangers. :D


	26. The Tale of Delphi

A/N: Mermaid Lover….I had hoped you would PM me or review from a PMable account so that I could talk to you about changes and plot points as I do with the creators of other characters I use, but since you haven't I just have to hope you don't mind the changes I made to your character Tadhana Dagat.

I'd like to also thank Hexal for submitting Matamasa for my Authorial use. Mermaid lover I know you wanted your character to be with a certain other character but I had already set him aside for Matamasa, I'm sorry, but I hope you don't totally hate what I did.

To Zevieshipper yes Will and Bella are one of my favorite couples….they're just so pretty together you know XD

To the several people who asked what 200k to 300k means 200,000 words to 300,000 words.

Also, thank you all so much for the reviews so far, they've been much appreciated.

It's a real confidence raiser when you're first attempt at a story becomes the most reviewed story in the category.

Onto the Story, Read and Review please :)

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Part 2

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Chapter 26

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Twelve years ago somewhere in the Philippines

"Six minutes left," the priestess intoned causing the midwife to glare at her. This woman had appeared an hour ago without explanation and refused to leave, she merely announced every minute or so how many minutes were left until the child would be born.

Lying on a bed of hay was a heavily pregnant woman, gasping from the pain of a nearly over labor.

The motley crew stood in a primitive wooden hut, listening to the rain pound against the thatched roof.

"Why are you even here, sea witch?" the panting mother to be asked, her dark skin gleaming with sweat. It wasn't often that one of the magical beings that lived in the water came on land, but that didn't mean that her people had forgotten about them.

"I am here because you did not heed the warning all women that are with child are given in this region. Disregarding this warning leaves aura on those who have done so. I am here because YOU have this aura," the priestess explained, "Combined with several other factors; I have been summoned to retrieve the child you are about to give birth to, before you can harm it!"

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Twelve Years ago Training Dojo on island near Philippines

Smack!

"Mata! What did I just finish saying?! Predict the move and you won't get any more bruises! I swear it's like you aren't even trying!" Guru Keluli scolded after using the palm of her hand to land a hit for the seventh time in one lesson.

Matamasa hung her head in shame.

"Don't you want to be able to protect the True Celik when she arrives?" Keluli asked as she crouched down and looked the seven year old girl in the face.

"Y-yes, but I don't know how to predict the hits!" Mata nearly sobbed, she was so ashamed that she was letting down her people. They had taken her from her human relatives when her parents had died when she was four, and began training her to take her place in the long line of Oracle Guards. She was grateful to finally be among people who didn't hate her for being different.

"You're having trouble with your sight?" Keluli asked surprised, "Why didn't you tell me, I thought you just weren't trying!"

"I-I th-thought that you'd t-tell the council and they'd throw me out for not being a proper Celik," Mata cried, tears running down her caramel skin from her silver eyes.

Keluli hugged her student, her hand stroking the girls ebony hair as she cried into her shoulder.

"Why would you think that? Mata, we'd never make you leave! We love you, sweetheart," Keluli reassured the sobbing child as she started calming down, "I'm sorry I was so harsh on you, and I want you to know that if you ever have problems with anything just come and tell me and we'll work on fixing them, understand?"

Matamasa sniffled as her teacher pulled back and took her hand as she stood up.

"Come on, let's talk to Guru Pandangan, I'm sure he'll be more than willing to work with you on your sight," Keluli smiled as they headed out of the dojo and began the trek towards the meditation cliff.

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Twelve years ago somewhere in the Philippines

"Five minutes," the Priestess announced, interrupting the rant of the woman as she readied to give birth.

"HARM MY CHILD!? What on earth makes you think I would harm my own flesh and blood?!" the woman screeched.

"I see the past, the present and the future. I watched, as you played with the amphibians in the Fae forest," the Priestess explained, "Don't try and deny it."

"WHAT?! Y-you played with the animals in the ENCHANTED FOREST?! AND while you were PREGNANT?! Every woman knows that's a curse on the child," the midwife shouted in horror.

"I-I d…It was before I knew I was pregnant, I-I didn't know! They were at the edge of the forest! I thought they were normal, they were so small and colorful, I didn't see the harm!"

"Be that as it may young one, the child has been blessed by the spirits, and as such belongs to the realm of my people. She won't be welcome here, the other humans won't understand and will try to harm her," the Priestess spoke, her words filling the two human women with dread, "It has been prophesied that she will be a great and powerful leader among our kind. If you wish your daughter to live a happy life, then you will allow me to take her to where she belongs."

"S-she?"

"Yes it is a gir-"

"Don't listen to the witch, they are known for stealing children! If she says the child is blessed then it is cursed and should be thrown in the river before it can infect the rest of us!" the midwife shouted as she back away from other two. She grabbed a bones knife used to cut the umbilical cord from a basket of tools.

"You will do no such thing, human! I will fight to my last breath to protect the True Celik! And let me tell you now, that a fully trained Celik such as myself is not to be trifled with!" the priestess warned.

The Midwife looked back and forth between the door and the priestess, contemplating her chances.

"Fine, as soon as the child is born you will take it and leave! Understood, I will not allow any such abomination to dwell with my people and spread its curse!" the woman snarled making as if to place the knife back into the basket of tools near the mother.

"Good, two minutes until the child is born," the priestess relayed as the situation calmed down.

Once more the midwife glared at her.

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Eight years ago on an island off the coast off Peru

"Much better Mata, at this rate, you'll be initiated into the guard in two revolutions of Bercahaya." Keluli praised her now star pupil. Mata still had trouble with her Sight, or Lehat as it was called, but she was also the best fighter in her class.

"I still can't see more than a year and half into the future. I just don't get it. Why is it that I can see the past just fine but the present and future are painful and blurry?" Matamasa asked.

"Being a Celik is not about seeing just the future. I have known many Celik's whose ability lay not in divining, but in recalling. Recalling the past can be just as useful. It shows the truth where normally it would never be found and it allows our people to keep the heritage and knowledge that would have been lost otherwise when our capital, Atlantis, fell," her teacher articulated, "Remember, some Celik's can only See one, the past, the present or the future. You are blessed to be able to see all three even if the present and the future aren't as clear to you. Besides, with the past and the present sight you don't have to worry about cryptic visions filled with confusing symbolism. You just get straight forward information. Anyway let us end this morbid conversation and go see if the harvest has been brought in. I have been craving fresh apples all day!"

Mata laughed at her teachers antics.

"If you keep talking of cravings, people are going to think you are with child, you know," Mata giggled as they strolled down the path towards the orchards.

The coy smile that graced her teacher's lips caused the twelve year old girl to gasp.

"You ARE with child! Oh that is fantastic Luli!" Mata nearly shouted in excitement, completely forgetting to address her teacher with the normal moniker of Guru, but instead with the nickname used by close friends.

"Shhh! I haven't even told Zamrud yet," Keluli quieted her young friend/student as she spoke of her husband.

"What is it that you haven't told your amazing husband yet," a deep voice said behind them.

Turning to find the owner of the voice, a handsome man wearing a traditional knee length one shouldered chiton, crested the top of the steps they had been about to descend.

On his arm hung a basket of gorgeous fresh red apples, "I know how much you like apples so I picked some up on the way here," Zamrud smiled as he offered her a juicy one, "Now the thing you hadn't told me yet? It couldn't possibly be that I'm going to be a father could it?"

Both the girls' mouths dropped.

"You cheat, you looked into the future didn't you!?" Keluli pouted at not getting to tell him herself.

"You really think that I, Zamrud, the most noble and handsome of Mer would stoop so low as to spy on his wife?" Zamrud feigned being insulted. It was frowned upon to use one's Celik abilities to invade the privacy of other.

"YES!" both the girls said in unison.

"I'm wounded! I'll have you know that I found out when I was coming back from the main temple. Healer Tulang congratulated me on becoming a father to a bouncing baby boy! Imagine my surprise!" Zamrud explained with a grin.

"Oh…Sorry love, mood swings?" Keluli shrugged playfully as she tried to pass her accusation off as a pregnancy symptom. She accepted the apple from his hand and bit into it with gusto.

Before she could even chew, she spat the apple out and stared, as the piece of fruit and every bit of foliage on the island turned black and crumbled to ash. The previously turquoise water turned black as the sky filled with clouds and blotted out the sun.

Her husband's and Mata's bodies became rotting skeletons on the ground as soot filled the air like gray snow.

The Island slowing began sinking into the water, lower and lower until her ankles disappeared into the black ocean.

As usual her legs were quickly replaced with her signature steel colored tail, which she immediately used to propel herself away from the decaying Isle.

An urgent melancholy music filled the air as she began following the distress call away from the churning ebony waters towards a place that felt like home.

Opening her eyes she stared speechless at her husband who was holding her still as she struggled to escape his arms.

"Must have been a bad vision, I had to hold you down. I haven't had to do that since you were a moon prone teenager," Zamrud said as he rubbed her arm to calm her down.

"Where's Mata?" Keluli asked.

"She ran to go get one of the high priestess, but that was nearly ten minutes ago. I wonder what's taking her so long?" he thought aloud, just as the twelve year old appeared over the Island's peak running at full tilt.

"Mata? What's wrong? Where are the priestesses?" Zamrud asked confused.

"They told me to fetch you to the Main Temple. Apparently everyone Celik with a Lehat range of at least eight years was incapacitated with a vision of the world ending in black water or something," Mata explained, looking to her teacher for an explanation, "What could it mean?"

"It means Mata, that in eight years unless our nation is ready to fight, it and the world will end is death and decay."

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Twelve Years ago somewhere in the Philippines

"Push, there you go, just a few more now. Come one PUSH!" the midwife ordered as the baby's head crowned. The mother let out another scream of pain as she gave a final push and the baby was out.

"By the gods, it's not even human!" the midwife gagged as she shoved the baby into the mothers arms and grabbed for a knife to cut the umbilical cord with.

Looking up the mother was terrified as she stared at the squirming infant in her arm.

Taking pity on the poor woman the midwife lunged, knife in hand, at the bawling infant.

The mother of the child cried out in fear, as the baby was wrenched from her hand into the air and the blade aimed for it was plunged into the woman's heart. She died almost instantly.

"You are a murderer! Whether it was the mother or the child, tonight you acted with hate in your heart for that which you do not understand. For that I curse you to be that which you hate!" the Priestess exclaimed as she pulled a staff from the air and blasted the woman with a beam of light.

Her hair turned purple, her eyes yellow and her skin blue. Webbing knitted her fingers together and patches of scales and warts covered her body.

It was a simple transfiguring spell; it didn't make her Mer or give her magic. It simply changed her appearance in a permanent way and rather disgruntling way.

Never again could she walk among humans without them flinching away in fear of her.

The scales on her face spelled out 'Killer', leaving none who saw it wondering what it was she could have done to deserve the infamous Curse of Penance that the sea people gave to those who wronged them.

Taking the now quiet infant in hand, she for the first time took the child's appearance in.

The baby was delicate in appearance, in the way that she did not have the normal fat that most human children had at birth. Instead she was proportionate in stature and her eyes stared intelligently into the priestess'.

Walking quickly to the river's edge she dipped the child in to clean the detritus of birth from her skin.

Once clean of the pink and white film she could see that the child's complexion was a light green, so light that it was almost white. Her ears were pointed in a most elegant fashion and she had translucent webbing between her fingers and toes.

Most catching of all were her eyes. Much like a frog with their horizontal oval pupils, they were surrounded with four section of silver iris. Almost as if each iris were really four tiny shards of mirror, perfectly reflecting the priestess' face back at her.

The woman's reverie was broken as shouts of anger began coming from the hut where the child's mother lay dead.

"It seems like it is time for us to take our leave," the Priestess told the child who stared unblinking at the sky as if the woman holding her didn't exist.

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Three years ago somewhere in the middle of the Java Sea

"You're rising quickly in rank. Not surprising when the princess is so fond of you," Keluli smiled as noted the brand new golden band around her upper arms that had replaced the silver ones she had worn for the last year. The more precious the metal of the band, the higher your rank was. The princess wore a platinum version of this band along with a matching circlet.

"I'd like to think that I was given my promotion to head of the guard because of my fighting skills. Not because the princess is my best friend," Mata said sullenly, "I love her like a sister but I feel like no one takes me seriously because they think I only get promoted because of my friendship with her."

"No one really thinks that Mata, I was just kidding. You forget that you are on an island filled with people that can see the future. We all know that you are a good fighter and that in the future you will protect your people and your princess in a way that merits you earning the honor. You see that is the joy of living with Celiks, we promote you based on what you are going to do, so that you don't have to wait years before getting rewards with what you deserve," Luli smiled as her young friend rolled her eyes, "Besides, being the head of a guard at the age of fifteen will bring many of the boys your way in terms of mating."

A sigh escaped Matamasa's lips.

"I'm nearly of age, I don't get it. Why haven't I bonded with my life mate yet? You bonded with Zamrud with two weeks of him coming to the island!" Mata said, "I worry that it won't happen for me sometimes."

"Mata do not worry, if it doesn't happen it is not the end of the world. Many Mer, Celik or not, won't meet that special someone. Either Atargatis created your other half or she intends for you to make your own choices. Whichever it is, you must accept it and not allow regret to cloud your enjoyment of life," Luli said as she stood and made to enter her house, "It is almost time for dinner and Pasir gets grumpy if he doesn't eat on time. Not to mention I have to get Nilama up from her nap. You're welcome to join up if you want."

Mata smiled as she stood up and smoothed her himation over her light armor.

"I'll have to decline this time, I'm on patrol duty in ten minutes. In fact I should probably be there already. I wouldn't want to be late for my first act as a Commanding officer!" Mata shouted as she dashed from the porch and used her gravity suppressor to jump five steps at a time. Sometimes she wished someone in the Temple of Creation would invent something to improve the suppressors and allow her to simply jump the flight of stairs one at a time.

With two minutes to spare she was waiting at the main dock for the rest of her contingent to arrive and join her for the patrol.

It was going to be odd commanding fifty soldiers, some of which were twice her age.

"Can we get a move on already, I want to finish this patrol before I'm sixty," one soldier said as he moved impatiently to the front of the forming line. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he pushed her out of the way. He wasn't angry with Mata, he just wasn't happy that he'd been a shoulder for twelve years and instead of a promotion he'd gotten placed under the command of a fifteen year old girl.

Mata saw a flash of the future as his hand touched her skin and was disheartened to see that if she let this action slide like she wanted to, then the others would see her as a weak leader.

Taking a breath, she reached her hands up and grasped the hand of the soldier that was about to leave her shoulder. Moving her other hand farther up, she pulled his wrist forward and used the momentum of her body to yank the older man backwards and over her shoulder with a flip, forcing him to land on his knees in front of her.

Addressing the group of stunned men and women in front of her, Mata continued her hold on the man's arm, keeping him submissive in front of her, "Don't think that because I am younger than most of you, that I am not capable. I was given this position by the Princess, not because she favors me, but because she Sees me as the best choice for the job. Are there any others that doubt the Lehat of the Princess!?"

Nobody moved as they realized the truth in her words.

"Now get into quadrant formation, you have ten seconds. Those of you who don't comply will be joining this soldier on cleaning duty in the Pegasi stable….without magic!" Mata added on, "What is your name officer?"

The man on the ground was wincing in pain as his hand was turning purple in her phalangeal nerve lock.

"Karang…Commander. I'm sorry for acting disrespectfully," the man apologized, realizing that it was precisely the thing that had gotten him into this position that had lost him the promotion…his temper.

"Accepted….Lieutenant," Mata announced his promotion, "I would ask nothing less of my right hand than to have fire in his belly. However for now you are to report to the stables every evening for the next week, understood?"

"Uh…Ye-Yes, YES, Understood, Completely!" the man smiled, the anger he had felt at serving under her as a faceless soldier after so many years of work evaporated.

"Good, now go, I have a patrol to begin," Mata instructed.

The man bounded up the stairs that lead to the crest of the island and in turn the Pegasi stable.

"I see the rest of you can follow orders to a satisfactory extent. Now Squad 2 you're on point, I want you to investigate a whale spotting that was reported today. The report says the whale may recently have had a complicated birth and may need medical attention. If so send up a flare and Squad 3 will join you and assist in bringing the whale to the Healing Bay. Squad one and two fan out. I want a twenty mile perimeter sweep. Anything suspicious, don't approach. Send up a flare and another member of your squad will be along to double check the threat. If it is indeed a threat you cannot manage on your own then send up a double flare and I'll recall a non-distressed squadron to assist. Understood, Good fall out!"

Without another word Matamasa dove into the water off the dock and turned in the water to watch as the rest of her contingent dove in and began following her orders.

Once they were out doing their jobs Mata took a second to close her eyes and take a deep breath of water.

She knew she could handle this now.

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Twelve years ago near an Island off the coast of the Philippines

The priestess was swimming as fast as she could towards home, fully aware that the other priests and priestesses were waiting at the Main Temple for the Arrival Ceremony of the True Celik, the rightful princess of their nation.

Using all her strength she shot out of the water and steamed the water from her body, allowing her to land on her feet on the usually stationary head of the island.

"I see that what I saw has come to pass," the high priest smiled as the verdant infant was placed in a marble bowl at the crest of the islands head.

A deep rumbling voice shook the island as the mountain the temple sat on trembled.

For the first time since the last True Oracle had been killed during the Mer purge of the Last Atlantean War, Delphi spoke.

"I see that my mistress has been returned to her rightful place. All is well with the world. The Guardian of Time has been reborn!"

Unlike in human mythology where it was believed Delphi was a temple on a mountain where oracles lived in ancient Greece, Delphi was actually the name of the Living Mountain upon which the Oracles built there city.

Delphi was a Zaraten.

Delphi was one of the last Immortal Lion Turtles that roamed the world.

Delphi was the birth place of the first True Oracle.

The mother to all Oracle Mer. To all Celiks.

Once more Princess Tadhana Dagat claimed her place as Princess of Delphi.

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Tadhana jerked back to the present, ending her visions of the past.

Matamasa, her best friend and the newly appointed head of the Delphian Military, had just entered the throne room.

"Hello Hana, how's life here in the lap of luxury going," Mata smiled as she took a seat on the stool Tadhana reserved for her visits.

"Don't you mean, how's life in the prison?" Tadhana sighed sullenly.

Because of her frailty, the Council of Delphi had ruled that she was to be protected by Guardians and never allowed to leave the protection of the palace. Was it really her fault she was born blind?

"Tadi," Mata rebuked mildly, "You know they are doing it for your safety. The last time you died you didn't come back for two thousand years. They just don't want to chance having the nation without its leader for so long again."

"I guess, but I'm telling you Mata as soon as I become of age, I am going to decree that I can do as I please!" Tadhana announced putting her hand in the air as if she were pointing to the future.

"I'm surprised you haven't done so already. I mean you are the ruler of the island," Mata pointed out.

Tadhana's hand fell into her lap at this realization. She began laughing at the absurdity of it all. Her never moving eyes remained on the door of the room opposite the throne.

"You know Mata, if I didn't have you around to keep my head on straight I swear I'd be carried off by my visions and never even know it!"

"Well now that that's taken care of, where are you telling Delphi to go this week?" Mata asked. She was hoping her young friend would ask the turtle to go somewhere with access to the outside world. It had been nearly three years since they had heard any news of the human world. Mostly because the Council members were the only one with the Lehat range to see the future of someone they weren't touching or emotionally connected to. Since humans weren't thought of as important for the day to day running of the city they were mostly ignored by the council and no one on the island knew anything that had happened in the last few years.

She could always ask Tadhana for news of the outside world, but the True Oracle saw everything at the same time and asking for nonspecific recent information that Mata could relate to was like asking Hana to find a grain of sand in the haystack of time and would more than likely just get her mentally stuck in a different era.

Mata noticed her friend had drifted into another vision and waved her hand in front of her face.

Matamasa almost slapped herself when she realized the stupidity of her actions.

Tadhana Dagat was physically blind. The only way she could see was when she viewed her own present and even then she would see it from a third person's perspective.

"Are you really trying to get the attention of a blind person by waving your hand in front of their face?" Tadhana Dagat asked amused.

"You may not have the use of your eyes but that doesn't mean you can't see Tadi," Mata stuck her tongue out, "Now tell me where the Island is going this time."

"If you must know, the Nation of Delphi has been summoned."

A wrinkle of confused creased Mata's eyebrows together, "Summoned? What do you mean summoned?"

"Our next destination is Atlantis, it seems that the humans are trying to start a war with the other half of our sister nation."

"Tadhana, I think you're stuck in one of your visions of the past again. Atlantis was destroyed over two thousand years ago," Mata corrected gently, expecting her friend to thank her as she usually did when she brought her back to the present.

Surprisingly, Tadhana's normally immobile mirror eyes rolled, catching the evening light and casting it around the room in a flicker of reflections.

"You have not had news of the outside world in years have you?"

Mata remainded silent.

"I thought not. Well as I'm sure you'll find out, two years ago New Atlantis began forming on an island off the coast of Australia. It would appear that my old friends on the Royal council did what I did and threw their souls into the future. Anyway, the point is that a human nation has attacked them and Atlantis is declaring war in retaliation. The Herald is calling all available allies to Atlantis to help in the war effort."

"W-what?"

"Oh dear, I've confused you. Simply put war is a foot and the Nation of Delphi will be rejoining Atlantis to help it win. Understood?" Tadhana asked using the very phrase her friend used when dealing with soldiers.

"Y-yes?"

"Good I want you to ready the troops, we'll be there at noon tomorrow."

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A/N: there it is the introduction of the first Ally. :D Hope you enjoyed it. Review questions and comments.

Also I saw a posting of an awards competition for the H2O category. If any of you lovely readers have time please check it out and vote. We've all got to do our part to make this category as official as the Harry potter or Twilight categories. It's called The Mermaid Awards by Shamrock17

Here is the link www . fanfiction s/ 9004479/1 / The-Mermaid-Awards


	27. The Russian Contingent

A/N: and so the plot thickens eh XD.

Thank you lovely reviewers you make posting this story worthwhile.

Also I recently reread my first few chapters and realized that my vocabulary and grammar has gotten much better than it was when I began. So thank you for that as well.

To the 475th review named guest that I can't reply to with a PM: this is what you said

"Guest 4/7/13 . chapter 7

Ummm I searched it up and penyihir dari laut means Witch From The Sea not Daughter Of The Sea. Also, Semasan, Kusuma, and Lelakin don't actually mean anything. In addition, Ndari is Nfrom and that doesn't make sense. Lemah actually means weak or feeble so that's basically the opposite of rock or earth. Only Cahaya and Kirana actually match up because Nuri means parrot which I guess makes Colorful Bird so that works, I guess."

My Rebuttal:

To start you are correct, Penyihir does mean witch. Which to most English speakers is negative. However to the magical people of Atlantis, the term witch, is an endearing term for a female that uses magic. Daughter would later be derived in their language from that. It is not directly translated as it is NOT actually Malay it is simply derived from Malay into Atlantean which I developed specifically for this story. (which is a lot of work mind you :P)

Also please note Katherine is a name. Just like Semasan, Kusuma and Lelakin are NAMES. They are not used as words in a sentence. You cannot simply type them into Google translate as I'm sure you did and be directly translated. If you did you'd likely get absolutely NOTHING! This is because they aren't words they are NAMES! Kusuma is derived from sankrit/indian from the subcontinent of India north of Malaysia and is a name not a word and it means blossom or blossom like. Semasa means the current and I masculinized it with an N at the end to be usable as an Atlantean boy's name. ex: Marie to Mario Feminine to Masculine. The same was done for Lelakin. The origin I derived it from was Lelaki which is Malay for man. Ndari is a gender ambiguous name meaning Full Moon. babynamesworld. /meaning_of_ www. ?name =Ndari (remove spaces)

To continue, Lemah is an Indonesian name for ground but you are right it also means weak. I chose the name for the story because to Atlanteans who think the sea is strength, they would see the land as weakness. For the above, as a writer that takes great care and hours of research for a lot of my work, I'd appreciate it if you'd research further into certain things before mistakenly writing them off as mistakes. Please don't just use Google translate and think you are suddenly an expert in a language and that all my work is incorrect.

Try studying Linguistic Anthropology and the evolution of language and names and it will make more sense. Thank you for reviewing with your concern.

Read and Review

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Chapter 27

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"This is a disaster!" Vladimir Putin nearly shouted as he finished reading the report of the Atlantean Missile Attempt.

"I agree, but I believe there has to be something we can do to fix it. I may not have been too fond of the beings on the Island but that missile nearly killed me as well. As such I think affirmative action is necessary," Aleksandr Gorbachrov stated with an edge of anger in his voice.

"What exactly do you wish me to do? It's not as if I can order a military strike on Yemen. Besides without a direct connection to Russia, neither house of Congress will even give such a request a second thought," Putin sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back into his chair.

"Didn't it say in the report?" Aleksandr asked, as Putin looked up at him confused.

"Say what?"

"Hmmm, I guess I forgot to mention that the Plutonium used as the main component of the warhead was Military grade….from Old Russia. The Soviets seem to want a foot back in the world," Aleksandr announced.

Putin's mouth dropped open in horror.

"Damn it!" Putin began a little disjointedly as he sat muttering to himself, "I can use this. Seeing as it's now a matter of direct national security and foreign relations, getting Congress' approval is no longer a problem. All I need to do is write out an executive order."

"You're going to attack Yemen full on?" Aleks assumed with a furrow in his brow.

"No, I can't risk a full out war with a direct connection back to me! Not with an election in six months" Putin replied simply.

"What did you have in mind?" Aleks asked confusion on his face

"A public gift! A unit of our best soldiers to help in the war effort. Each and every one of them signed over to the jurisdiction of the Atlanteans with full discretionary use," Putin replied, "In fact I'm thinking that Spetsnaz unit that were trained by Soviet sleeper agents will be perfect! Once they except we'll have no direct connection to any mishaps that occur as it'll be under their orders and we'll still be viewed as having a firm back bone in world affairs, all while getting rid of those loose cannon soldiers!"

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'Such purity the little minnows have,' the black bearded man thought to himself, 'The species was beautiful inside and out,' it was enough to make him physically ill. 'Especially when they used their twice damned powers to oppose him!'

It disgusted him.

The useless whelps rarely used violence for anything other than justice or defense. The very idea, of such beings existing, made bile rise in throat.

He would destroy them all if it was the last thing he did.

"Sir? Are you alright?" he was asked by the man standing next to him.

"Yes, I'm fine! Now show me what you've been working on. It had better be good for you to drag me all the way out here," the bearded man snapped as he was brought out of his reverie.

It was rare for him to leave the protection of his mansion, but he made an exception today because one of his lieutenants has promised him progress on one of the projects he was funding.

Cracking his neck, Ira suppressed his annoyance as he followed the soldier into secret desert stronghold.

He hid a smirk as he thought of how easy it had been to bring the Yemeni under his control.

A little misdirection, a quote from the Quran and a few speeches on the dangers presented by the demon fish people and he had the radicals under his thumb.

He only hoped his siblings were having as easy a time with their missions.

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Spetsnaz

"Why are they sending us to deal with the fish people? That's a bit over kill isn't it?" Dimitri Yanilov growled irritably as the heli-plane lifted off the tarmac.

"You obviously didn't read the mission briefing," Lev Kravchenko rolled his eyes at his teammate, "We aren't being sent there to kill the Mer. We are being sent to assist and train them."

"That's what I don't understand though! We're deadly assassins not babysitters! Why is Putin sending us instead of a regular army training unit?" Tanya Ramius wondered aloud to her teammates who were all strapped into seat harnesses for safety as the heli-plane sped towards their destination.

No one answered for a second.

"It wasn't in the mission statement but I overheard Putin talking to an ambassador," Vasily said quietly as if what he were saying was an important secret, "They were saying that the reason Russia was getting involved was because it was proven that the Soviets of the old regime that escaped before the collapse are working to rebuild the empire and part of doing so was to sell Russian Plutonium to the terrorist that attacked Atlantis."

The fuselage filled with gasps from all the collected soldiers but one.

"You don't seem surprised Nikita? Did you know of this? Is that why you were added to our team at the last moment?" Natalia asked suspicious of the new comer.

"Why I am here is none of your business silly girl. Though I am surprised they even allowed a woman along on such a dangerous mission," Nikita sniffed annoyed as he straightened in his harness.

The rest of the team stared at him.

"It is my experience that chauvinistic pigs don't last very long when wounded on the battle field," Nikolai Glockov announced solemnly as he brush his medics badge, "They tend to die squealing as if they weren't even getting medical attention….With all due respect….Lt. Khrushchev."

Nikita's eye widened at the insinuation, while the rest of the chuckled at the barely veiled threat.

Vasily popped in the ear buds of his music player as the rest of his team settled in for the long flight.

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"Who exactly are they sending, anyway?" Cleo asked Emma, who had been coordinating the arrival of the soldiers.

Emma looked up from her cluttered white-marble desk, which was situated in one of the many underwater caves that had been made along the miles of tunnels beneath the Island.

It was acknowledged that Emma had skill in the area of dealing with other governments as she studied their laws and history and as such she was appointed the head of Foreign Affairs and given a separate office with an eager young Delphinian scribe who had volunteered to be the Princess' secretary.

"Ms. Berais would you be so kind as to deliver this to Commander Braginski for me, please?" Emma asked politely as she placed her message in a water proof tube for transport.

"Of course, your majesty, and please call me Surata," the sixteen year old blond asked happily as she took the proffered scroll tube and dove into the tunnel entrance at the edge of the office.

"Icy letters?" Cleo asked confused as she translated the girl's Atlantean name.

"Yes, the Delphinians are traditional when it comes to names. When a baby is born the elders look into the future and find some identifying characteristic and then the child is given a name that marks their powers or profession. Seeing as she is a Sejuk like me and a scribe she was named 'Icy letters' or as you heard Surata Berais. Surat meaning words is given an A to make it feminine."

Cleo rolled her eyes, "I don't need an Atlantean grammar lesson, I can speak and write it just as well as you. I was just confused by her name is all." Cleo stuck her tongue out at her sister who playfully returned the gesture.

"Have Leon and Alison named their baby yet?" Emma asked as she shuffled through papers. The baby had been born only yesterday.

"They followed the tradition and asked one the Celiks what he was going to be when he grew up. Last I heard they were still choosing between Beracun and Kuasa. Either way his last name will be Loridan," Cleo replied.

"Poisonous or Force? Am I correct in guessing that the boy got both of his parents powers?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep, and it makes me wonder about the possibility that any children we have will do the same? I mean from what I understand from the scrolls the different species evolved from the fact that Mers with certain powers only mated with other Mers with the same powers. Does that mean that by bringing all the different species into one place where they are pairing off that we are creating new species with different power combinations?"

Emma stared at her sister as if she had grown another head.

"You really have been spending a lot of time in the library haven't you?" Emma asked with a wry smile, "And to your question, I'm not sure, we'll find out when Bella and Will's kid is born whether or not it was a fluke or just the fin thief species that it occurs in."

"True, I can't wait to be an anomal-"

Cleo's words were cut off by a splash as Surata returned to the office cave.

"Your majesties, Commanders Braginski and Matamasa are asking for your presence. A man-made air vehicle of some sort is trying to land but there is nowhere open or flat enough.

The princesses glanced at each other with a look of confusion before they followed the girl out of the tunnel entrance.

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"Lt. Khrushchev I don't see a landing pad anywhere! What are your orders?" the pilot of the heli-plane shouted back into the fuselage.

Before the Lieutenant could answer the blades held within the plane's hover wings ceased movement and the heli-plane began to plummet the last thousand or so feet to the ground.

"говно! Eject and deploy!"

Each member of the crew quickly removed their harnesses and jumped out of the now open plan door.

Ripping the cords to their parachutes the air filled with blue sky camouflage chutes.

"Why isn't the Heli-Plane falling?"

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Lt. Khrushchev stared wide eyed as the heli-plane began descending without the assistance of the engine or blades.

Before the Russian parachutists could finish floating to the ground, the ground beneath them lifted up and flattened into a twenty by twenty platform of rock that easily accommodated the base stand of the Heli-plane.

Looking down at the ground, he noticed ten black clad figures with daggers, exiting the jungle and running at full kilt as they went.

"Enemies at 3 o'clock, armed and black clad. Suggest suppressive fire," he called out in Russian to the unit of soldiers sailing closer to the ground and the black clad figures.

The soldiers looked at each other, "Sir, we were sent here to be their allies! We are not going to start an international inciden-"

Their words weren't even out of their mouths before the newest addition to their team fired ineffectually at the advancing soldiers.

Bullets ricocheted off their armor plated body as gravity suddenly lost its hold on the soldiers, as two of them shot off the ground and met the Lieutenant thirty feet off the ground. With a flash of their daggers the parachute was sliced from his back and he was grabbed by the two men and pulled back to the earth perfectly unharmed.

Eyes wide and ready for battle, the rest of the Russian contingent touched down, with their guns already in hand.

"ENOUGH!" a familiar voice shouted in Russian.

The majority of the unit flashed around in surprised at the order.

Standing before them was the nearly seven foot tall man they had once called brother.

Ivan 'Vodka' Braginski.

"Vodka? You're alive?!" Dmitri nearly shouted in surprise.

"IVAN?!" Tanya really did shout, as she took in the now white-haired form of her old flame, standing a mere three feet from her.

Throwing caution to the wind, the impetuous woman holstered her pistol and launched herself at Ivan before he could react.

Tanya's lips found themselves moving against stone lips as Ivan refused to reciprocate her affection, "I-Ivan? What's wrong?"

Cold enveloped her as an icy fist knocked her sideways off Ivan's shock frozen body.

"You are what's wrong, G.I. Bitch!" Mikkela growled aggressively as she advanced on the stunned form of the Russian spy.

"Who the HELL are you?!" Tanya asked as she ducked the white haired girl's frost covered fists and round house kicked the uppity little thing in the face.

Her foot was intercepted on its second attempt at the girl who had attacked her.

With a twist of the large pale fist she was flipped onto her face in the grass, "I said ENOUGH! That's an order!"

Tanya froze as she remembered where she was.

"Captain?" she whispered confused at her former lover's reaction to her presence. He had always encouraged her during sparring sessions. And yet here he was glaring down at her as if she was an unruly new recruit that had disobeyed an order….as if he no longer thought of her as more….

"Tanya?" Ivan regarded her sternly, "It's been a while."

"It's been a while?" Tanya repeated, "Nearly nine years of thinking you were dead and all you can say is 'it's been a while? What are you even doing here?!"

Ivan stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. His short relationship with the woman in front of him had been a vain attempt at happiness that he had been unable to achieve until coming to Atlantis and mating to Mikkela.

"Commander? What do you want us to do with these people?" a female voice came from one of the black swathed fighters.

"Let them go. I'm sure this was just a misunderstanding. This is the unit the Russians sent to assist us," Ivan ordered.

The Atlantean guards released the Russians, but tentatively anticipated a surprise from the unknown group of people.

"I still don't understand why we need humans in our army," a stern looking young woman remarked as she shouldered her way through the crowd.

She wore metal chain mail in a short silver skirt around her waist, held up by a belt of leather which also stood to hold her sword and sheath. Her chest was covered by a steel bustier as well as her trademark golden Commander armbands.

The Royal Council which now included Princess Tadhana, each wore platinum bands to denote their adherence to Delphinian tradition and to help welcome the Seers.

In the short time since Delphi had integrated with the main island of Atlantis, nearly doubling the previous landmass, the two nations had begun training and reorganizing its small but powerful military forces.

On the now more than ten square miles islands that made up New Atlantis' land mass, the population soared from the thirty or so citizens of the newly established nation to 2,068. Two hundred of which were already trained soldiers under the High Commander Matamasa.

Ivan had been made a High Commander as well and was already picking the best Delphinian soldiers for a special ops team.

"Two reasons. Firstly the Russians were kissing up so we wouldn't blame them for the plutonium and secondly, we won't be able to train even the best soldiers well enough to do certain missions. Which is where the Russians come in," Ivan replied succinctly as he raised an eyebrow as if daring her to argue further.

"Very well then. Welcome Russian Humans," Mata smirked as she addressed them, "When you are finished here, report to Fort Penglihatan. I'm sure someone here will be able to direct you to the giant stone fortress on the highest point of that big island over there," she indicated the place Delphi had settled. The outer wall had been expanded to give him room.

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It really was just an unfortunate coincidence that the missile had almost hit the Island five days ago on the very day Ivan and Mikkela's Mating ceremony was to have taken place. It was an even worse coincidence that his ex-girlfriend literally fell from the sky on the very day that their ceremony had been pushed to.

And so it was that the Russian contingent sat in a crowd of unfamiliar faces, listening to a white robed figure, as he slowly babbled in an unfamiliar language.

"What's happening?" Dmitri whispered in Russian to Tanya.

"How should I know. They've barely said two words in an intelligible language to us, since we arrived and that was an hour ago!"

"I think we might have interrupted something important when we arrived," Nikolai commented.

"Shhh!" a stern faced woman narrowed her eyes at the contingent before turning back and paying attention to the ceremony.

Silence settled over the group as the unfamiliar ceremony continued and harp music began playing alongside the captivating choir of sirens.

Finally the weird Atlantean babble was over and the white robed figured addressed the crowd in English.

"Gentlemer, we are called together on this special day to witness the Mating Bond and Marriage of High Commander Ivan Braginski with Princess Mikkela," the priest announced.

Tanya nearly swallowed her tongue and began coughing as her saliva went down the wrong tube.

"He goes missing for years and the first time we see him he's some important official getting married to a magical princess," Lev remarked with a chuckle, "The man never ceases to amaze me."e'sHe

Tanya glared at him, "It's not funny in the slightest! For all we know these people are holding him against his will and forcing him to marry some ugly sea monster! We don't even know if she's nice or not!"

As the harp music reached its crescendo, two young blonde girls twirled and pirouetted down the aisle in the center of the amphitheater, followed by a swirl of pink rose petals and white doves that seemed to dance in the air with them. The gravity defying petals settled around the feet of the girls in a neat pile as they came to a stop at the center of the circular arena, while the birds flew off and took up perch on the highest points of the theather.

Next another four figures moved in synchronization as they lithely sashayed down the aisle. Each one was wearing a different color. Red, Gold, Silver and Blue.

Fire erupted from the hands of the girl in red, which she manipulated into spirals, that lit ten equidistant torches around the rim of the amphitheater. Next the girl in gold liquefied a thick golden coil from around her waist and began coating the white linen that marked the aisle floor with gold plating. Once she was finished the girl in silver raised her hands and instead of an immediate effect the clouds slowly began darkening until only a single ray of silver light beamed down to an altar placed in front of the priest.

Finally the girl in blue began moving in complex martial arts forms with twists and flips until water shot out of several water filled holes and morphed into a solid arch with intricate carvings over the marriage altar.

"Could they be any more show offy," Tanya grumbled earning her another scolding from the stern woman.

"The four Elements, Fire, Earth, Air and Water that gave this world life look upon us today with pride as we join these two soul mates in the name of Atargatis, the goddess and mother of all Mers. May the Mates please present themselves."

The crowds eyes were drawn to the entrances of the arena as first Ivan, wearing white and gold robes with rubies, strolled calmly towards the altar smiling as he watched his bride enter the other.

Her face and body were completely obscured by layers of silver and white veils over an ice blue robe.

It irked Tanya that her rival for Ivan could walk so damn gracefully that it looked almost as if she was gliding.

After a moment, the couple met at the altar and kneeled before the priest.

"As you both were blessed by Atargatis with soul mates, let it be known that our business here today is to acknowledge and officiate the union of this pair under Atlantean law. If anyone objects to the bonding of this couple please announce your discontent now or forever hold your peace."

Tanya stood without thinking, "I object!"

The entirety of the amphitheater turned and looked at her as if she had grown another head.

After a full minute of staring the crowd turned back to the couple who had asked the priest to continue regardless of the human upstart.

Before Tanya could continue her protest, Marko grabbed her by the elbow and yanked her back into her seat, "You may have had Ivan for a few short weeks many years ago, but that does not mean I will allow you to ruin his chance for true happiness just because it makes you jealous."

She looked down in shame as his words sank in.

Nine years was nearly half of her life. She shouldn't, no wouldn't, allow a silly crush ruin Ivan's marriage no matter how much it hurt.

She sat silently throughout the rest of the ceremony, during which Mating bracelets were exchanged and the two were permanently bonded by Atlantean law as well as Atargatis.

She would have to do some reevaluating if she want to be the professional soldier she had always thought herself to be.

Looking up as the veil was lifted, Tanya attempted to bury the seed of jealousy she felt as the girl she had fought with earlier was revealed.

Someone must have healed her in this magicky community, because the broken nose the girl had received from the heel of Tanya's boot were missing.

'At least I win the little things," Tanya thought to herself.

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A/N: Sorry it took so long, I'm nearing graduation and I've been writing another story so I wasn't actively writing this chapter. I also kind of stopped having my dreams in which the chapters practically write themselves, so I've been dealing with writers block.

Review with any idea you have for anything and I'll see if I can use them :)


	28. The Second Star on the Right

A/N: Sorry about the long wait, I'm about to graduate and I've been super busy : )

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Chapter 28

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"They need us," Peter announced, "We are the last line of defense!"

"Stop being so melodramatic," Kendra rolled her eyes, as her husband paced in front of the mirror preparing his speech.

"Melodramatic? I was going more for persuasive," he pouted as he fell backwards onto the plush bed in frustration. Kendra leaned backed from her seated position to lie alongside him. Smirking amusedly, Kendra used a slender finger to push a lock of her husband's hair from his face. His brown-green eyes smiled up at her as he returned the gesture with one of her blonde curls.

"You my love, are already extremely persuasive," Kendra chuckled prettily, "I mean you did convince me to run away from home and marry you did you not?"

Peter pulled Kendra into a kiss as he rolled over on top of her.

"Hem hem, there are children about you know!" Mitchel scolded as he entered the room without knocking.

Kendra groaned and pushed her husband to the side as her brother tapped his foot.

"You know, just because you have the body of a fourteen year old, that doesn't mean that you are actually a child," she scolded, annoyed, "In fact I don't believe there are more than twenty Mer on this Island that are under eighteen and you still act more immature than them!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your wrinkles in a twist old lady," Mitchel teased as he stuck his tongue out at his physically seventeen year old sister.

"HEY! I may be a hundred and twenty two years old but that doesn't give you the right to call me old!" Kendra seethed. Being called old was the one insult that always got under her typically devil-may-care attitude.

"Calm down! Geez I was just joking!" Mitchel placated in vain as he levitated to avoid a blasting spell.

"LETUPAN!" she attempted to blast him again.

"Membatalkan," Peter canceled the spell with a snap of his fingers before it could knock his mischievous brother-in-law out of the air, "Play nice sweetheart. He is your brother after all."

"A very annoying brother at that," she pouted, as she crossed her legs and sat indian style in the air.

"Now before I was so rudely interrupted I was going to say that the Herald has switched from calling lost Mer to calling any and all citizens of old Atlantis," Mitchel announced, "Not sure what that means but that's what the faeries told me to tell you."

"Yes I know," Peter acknowledged, "Tink told me this morning and I've been trying to come up with a speech to give when I announce that the Island will be moving to join Atlantis. You know how our citizens get about change."

"Change is for ninnies and grown-ups," Mitchel and Kendra quoted the lost boys in unison.

It was true the only thing that had changed in the Nation of Kecantikan in the last 100 or so years was the occasional new comer to the island or the highly celebrated birth of a baby. None of whom aged after reaching physical adolescence.

Which of course made it quite odd, as Kendra herself was a teenager and a mother of nine to boot. Family reunions were awkwardly fun as all but the very youngest of her grand and great-great children were of similar physical age to herself and her husband.

And yet she never once regretted running away from her human family in stuffy old London and marrying Prince Peter Pan.

Peter's father, King James had grown tired of ruling ten years after Kendra's arrival and abdicated the throne.

It was said that he did so in a fit of madness, that only came from eating the rare and dangerous Gila berries that grew only on Skull Island at the northern border of the nation.

To make a rather long and complicated story unnecessarily short, King Hook became the infamous swashbuckling pirate, Captain Hook, after from what they heard from their occasional expeditions into the mundane world, he had gotten into an argument with a shape-shifting crocodile named Sobek and lost his hand. A fact that, along with a clock, had been dubiously incorporated into the multiple pieces of literature Kendra's estranged brother had written.

So now, as Ruler of the Nation of Kecantikan, which was occasionally called Neverland, it was Prince Peter and his wife Princess Kendra's duty, to inform their xenophobic citizens, that the entire landmass they lived on, was going to be teleported at exactly midnight, to its new home in the subtropical waters of Australia.

Their nation was going to become nothing more than a state under the trident embossed banner of Atlantis.

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"I understand that this news is upsetting. However Kecantikan was a part of Atlantis way before it was Neverland, and it is our duty at Atlanteans to help our sister nations in any way we can," Kendra addressed the grumbling adolescent that were crowded around in front of her as she stood on a rock overlooking Mermaid Lagoon.

Mermaid Lagoon was actually the largest transition pool for Mer changes in the entire world as it took up one square mile of water, not included in the twenty-one square mile landmass. More interesting was the fact that it was actually a crater, made by a golden meteor that had hit the once normal island, which created the very hole that was now the lagoon and sent a layer of golden dust laced with magic into the air.

The magic had in turn transformed the island into the semi-sentient, portable piece of land that it was today, as well as leaving it with the odd side-effect of eternal youth.

Anyone who drank the water on the island stayed young as long as they continued drinking it; in fact it was the basis for Ponce de Leon's search for the famed fountain of youth.

But that is neither here, nor there, or up, or down for that matter. And in Neverland logic, an argument could be made that it was also completely irrelevant to everything as it had nothing to do anything related to the most important game of Rock Scotch.

For the sake of the readers' sanity, we won't be discussing Rock Scotch or how it involves purple chalk and watermelon flavored fish. Instead we shall return to the arrival of the rather odd island of Neverland into the waters off the coast of Australia.

As that is what was happening as we were discussing how logic works in Neverland. You might now be noticing that logic in Neverland is prone to changing on a whim. Just as Time and Seasons change on the whim of King Peter.

Have I mentioned that ADHD is extremely common, rather severe and completely contagious in Neverland. It even affects innocent visiting narrators.

Fortunately, the effects of warped reality in Neverland are nowhere near as potent as they are in the magical realm of Tertanya, which was a mythical place also known as Wonderland.

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BREAKING NEW!

This was the marquee that was scrolling across the Channel 11 Evening News as it was being watched by a twitching Ice Princess.

"Reports are coming in of a large landmass that seems to have appeared out of thin air, mere feet from the shore of Duranbah Beach near Gold Coast City, in Queensland. No one knows where the island came from, but one there is one thing we can be certain of.

The camera zoomed in on a cluster of lights that was fluttering around the edge of the island.

Faeries were shown in bright detail as they giggled and waved as the cameras.

"And that is that this event is magical in nature," the reporter continued, "A possibility that would have been ignored before the unveiling of the Magical Nation of Atlantis just last month."

Static snapped across the television, removing the image as it was turned off.

"Aren't you coming?" Cleo called in question as she passed Emma's house.

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A bit of a cliffie I suppose :}

A/N: Love reviews oh so very much :D Pleeeease don't forget to drop your opinions in the box at the bottom.


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